What Doesn't Kill Us
by Reese M
Summary: When Gibbs is sent the belongings of a little girl he doesn't know everyone finds out that Jenny Shepard has been keeping a huge secret from him; their daughter. Can Gibbs, Jenny and the team find the kidnapped girl or will old enemies finally get to settle old vendettas? And how will finding out Jenny kept him out of his daughter's life effect Gibbs and Jenny's relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first NCIS fic, I own nothing, I'm just playing with them for my own enjoyment. Also, in my world, Kate never dies. This takes place roughly sometime between the end of season three and season four, maybe some season five along the way.

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It was early on a Monday morning following a long weekend working a case. The NCIS bullpen was peaceful and quiet as the first few early birds began to arrive for the start of a new workweek. It had been a hectic couple of months for everyone. They'd nearly lost one of their own, they were adjusting to a new Director, Gibbs' team was getting use to a new member, and the cases had been coming hot and heavy. Everyone from the Director to the janitor who took trash bags full of empty coffee cups out every night was hoping for a slight reprieve, a moment to breath, a moment to enjoy the homecoming of the agent they nearly lost. Of course they weren't going to get that moment. The kind of bad they dealt with day in and day out wasn't going to take a day off just because Kate Todd was coming back to work.

Caitlin "Kate" Todd smiled as she stepped off the elevator and onto the bullpen floor of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services office. It was her first day back since being shot by Ari Haswari. Ari had nearly killed her, and if it hadn't been for Gibbs he would have. If it hadn't been for Gibbs and his famous gut moving her suddenly Ari's shot would have nailed her right between the eyes. Gibbs had pushed her backwards several steps and the bullet hit her just above the Kevlar vest she was wearing. Shaking off the memory of being shot, rushed to the hospital, waking up after surgery to Gibbs' watching over her, and the weeks of recovery Kate made her way towards her desk. She smiled as her partners, Tim McGee and Tony DiNozzo stood up, smiling as she approached.

"Welcome back Kate." Tim said with a cheerful, boyish smile.

"Let me see the scar." Tony demanded with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Kate's scar was on her breast. "Not a fat chance in hell, DiNozzo." The dark haired, hazel eyed secret service officer turned special agent just shook her head at her friend as she turned and dumped her stuff on her desk. Sitting in her chair looking up at her was a dark haired, dark eyed woman Kate hadn't met before, but had a pretty good idea whom she was. "You're in my chair."

"I was just…" Ziva David began.

"You're at my desk." Kate replied.

Ziva looked the other woman over for a long moment. Since the day she arrived all she'd heard from her team was Kate Todd this and Kate Todd that. It was a little odd to be face to face with a fairytale. Another moment passed as the two woman sized each other up. Finally Ziva stood slowly, offering Kate her desk back.

The two women never took their eyes off each other, not until the sudden silence in the room was broken by a high pitched, very clearly delighted squeal that called out, "Kate's back!"

Kate felt the air being knocked out of her lungs as Abby Sciuto engulfed her in a tight embrace. "Abby." Kate wheezed. "You just saw me last night."

"Yeah, I know." Abby said, still hugging the slightly shorter woman. "But that was at your apartment and this is here. You're back! I missed you!"

From her perch on the third floor near the railing Director Jenny Shepard watched as her agency's number one team was reunited. She really hoped that having Kate back would help the team accept Ziva more easily, they hadn't really taken kindly to her mandate that Ziva be on the team, but she knew that they would all gain something from Ziva's addition. Just as she knew Ziva would learn a lot from them, from him mostly, but from the other too.

As she watched Doctor Donald Mallard take his turn in hugging Kate, welcoming her home, she couldn't help but think back to the days when they along with Gibbs were that tight knit team. The way they'd been together, the closeness, the reliability, the loyalty, the caring, that's what she wanted for these younger agents. Though as Director she could do without any clandestine love affairs between any of her agents, though if they were as careful and she and Jethro then only they'd get hurt, but she didn't want that for anyone. That kind of pain, the kind of secrets that could come from that, she wouldn't wish that anyone.

After Ducky and Abby left the bullpen everyone settled in at their desks and set to work on their various tasks. Kate was just getting up to retrieve more paperwork from the printer when a delivery made walked up to their row of cubicles. "Can I help you?"

It was odd, the sudden thoughts flooding her mind. She often thought of Jethro and their past but for some reason she couldn't seem to shake them this morning. She'd had the oddest feeling in the pit of her stomach since she'd awoken with a slight startle that morning. Jenny still didn't know what she'd dreamt about that had jostled her awake, or even if it had been a dream at all. Maybe she should have gone with her instincts and called to check on Jethro, but she hadn't been able to think of a good enough excuse to just randomly call him at five a.m.

Turning away from the railing and heading into MTAC Jenny didn't see the sandy blonde haired man in the brown shorts and shirt get off the elevator and call out, "Special delivery for Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"He isn't in yet." Kate said as she walked over to the man. "I'll sign for it."

The deliver man nodded and handed Kate the delivery tag to sign. After ripping off his copy he gave her the box and left. Not even a full second later Kate felt herself flanked on either side by the boys.

"What do you think it is?" Tony asked as Kate walked the package over to Gibbs desk and set it down.

"Probably something for the boat in his basement." Kate replied just as Tony picked up the package to give it a little shake. "Tony!"

"What?" The boyish man replied with a child like grin.

"What if it had something explosive in it?" McGee asked.

"Didn't you learn anything from blowing into a powder filled envelope?" Kate asked as she glared at her partner. He'd nearly died from being reckless and she wasn't about to let him forget that any time soon. Not after what he'd made her feel when she thought he'd died.

Tony just rolled his eyes. "They're extra careful with the mail. They're not going to send up something explosive. It doesn't sound like a piece for his boat. Maybe it's something for the redhead in the convertible? It sounds like fabric, something heavy, a clatter of something small. You don't think it's a ring do you? Ya know for number four."

"Number four what?" Gibbs asked, suddenly standing behind Tony.

Tony's eyes went a little wide. "Um, number four bolt, or screw, or whatever it is you use on your boat, Boss. Ya know, a ring for the bolt on your boat."

Gibbs just stared at the younger man until Tony put the package down and slowly backed away. Then he looked down at the package. "What's this?"

"Came for you a few minutes ago, Gibbs." Kate told him. "Special delivery."

Gibbs gave the package a closer look before sitting it down and taking out his knife to open it. He very carefully broke the string tied around it, the seal on the brown paper, and then the seal on the box. He lifted the lid on the white gift box carefully, as if he were expecting something nasty to happen. Using two fingers he carefully peeled back the tissue paper and then looked down at the contents of the box with a quizzical gaze.

"What is it Boss?" Tony asked as he, McGee and Kate approached Gibbs' desk slowly. They were being more cautious of Gibbs himself rather than box.

Gibbs gave everything inside a look over, carefully moving each item to see everything the box contained. Then he looked up and said, "Get this to Abby."

"Why?" Tony asked before he could stop himself.

"Because we need to know why someone sent me the personal items of a little girl." Gibbs answered.

The three agents looked into the box with wide eyes. Inside, clearly visible, was a school blazer and a stuffed rabbit. Gibbs had also seen a thin gold chain and what looked like a bullet casing. Kate picked up the package carefully, making sure to get the paper and string as well, and carried it down to the lab. She and Abby went through each item watchfully, bagging and tagging it as they went. Abby found a small white envelope tucked into the breast pocket of the school blazer and inside was a reddish hair with a root ball attached, prefect for DNA analysis. There was also a perfect little fingerprint on the cross pendant that was on the thin gold chain Gibbs had spotted.

After helping Abby, who was now busy checking for more prints or any other evidence she could find, Kate headed back upstairs where she joined McGee and Tony in talking about what the items in the package meant. Why would someone send Gibbs, send NCIS a box of things that clearly belong to a child. "Kate," Gibbs barked as he came back from where ever it had been he'd disappeared to. "Start checking missing persons, see if there's a naval or marine family out there missing a child, and see what you can find out about the blazer, what school it came from. DiNozzo." He thrust the copy of the delivery tag the deliver guy had taken, which he'd found in a trashcan outside, at Tony while saying, "Find that delivery man. McGee."

"Yeah Boss?" McGee said with that wanting to please look on his face.

"Coffee." Gibbs said before sinking into his desk chair.

"Right Boss." McGee replied, looking a little chest fallen.

"Where the hell is David?" Gibbs asked.

"With the Director, Boss." Tony willingly tattled.

Gibbs got up and heading upstairs to get his team member and to have yet another chat with Jenny about his team and his people. He understood there was a connection between Jenny and Ziva, they'd worked together for a long time, in close, dangerous situations. But if Jenny wanted him to show Ziva the ropes then she'd need to cut the apron stings.

On Abby's main screen there was a little green fingerprint next to a quickly flashing array of comparison fingerprints. She was running a search to see if the fingerprint she'd pulled off the necklace was in someone's database. Abby herself was busy preparing the hair she'd found for DNA testing. Something about all of this felt hinky. Why would someone send them a perfect fingerprint and a hair sample? And the bullet casing they'd found in the box, what was that about?

"Anything?" Kate asked as she walked into the lab.

"Not yet." Abby replied, and then let Kate know what she did know.

"Gibbs wants me to have a go at finding out where the blazer's from." Kate said as she picked up the evidence bag with said article of clothing. She took the blazer out and arranged it so she could get a good picture of the school crest on the breast pocket.

When Gibbs and Ziva walked into the lab Kate running a search on the school crest and Abby was waiting for her results. Ziva walked over to the evidence table and started looking things over. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the blazer Kate had left laying there, and then picked up the bagged rabbit. When her gaze caught on the necklace her eyes snapped open wide.

Gibbs had been watching his newest agent and caught the sudden look of surprise and confusion. "Recognize something Ziva?"

"Where did this come from?" She demanded as she raised her eyes to meet Gibbs' stare.

"It was delivered to Gibbs this morning." Kate explained. "Do you know who it belongs to? You look as if you know these things."

Ziva didn't answer her. She pulled her phone out and hit speed dial. When she spoke she spoke in a language she knew the others wouldn't know.

"If you know what's going on Officer David," Kate said as she glared at the other woman. "There could be a child out there who needs our help, and we can't do that until we know what's going on, so it would be nice if you filled us in."

Before Ziva could say a word Abby's computer beeped. "I got something!"

"What Abs?" Gibbs said, his voice and stare softening, as he looked over at the pigtailed young woman he considered a daughter.

Abby beamed as she struck a key on her keyboard and a picture popped up. "A hit on the fingerprint." She answered as everyone in the room stared at a little girl with auburn hair, bright blue eyes, and a sweet smile. It was a school picture and she was wearing the blazer and the necklace. "Kennedy Emerson…" Abby's eyes went wide.

"Shepard." Jenny said from the doorway. Her heart stopped, her breath refused to leave her lungs as she looked at the picture on Abby's screen. She took several steps into the room, her eyes darting from the screen to the table, and then back to the screen. Ziva spoke to her in the same language she'd used over the phone, letting everyone in the room known she'd called Jenny just a moment ago. Everyone in the room but Ziva was silently asking her the same question so Jenny nodded, confirming what they were all thinking. "She's my daughter."

Everyone standing in Abby's lab was staring at Jenny but none so intently as Jethro. The tension was overwhelming, smothering. Finally Jenny couldn't take it anymore and asked, "What the hell is going on?"

Before anyone could answer her DiNozzo walked in. "Good news bad news, Boss. Good news is I found the deliveryman who brought the package with the kid's stuff in it. Bad news, he's on his way to Ducky." Tony looked around at everyone, finally feeling the tension, and asked, "What did I miss?"

"I'm still waiting on an answer." Jenny snapped. She was trying to hold down her panic, trying not to drown in the sudden wash of fear she felt, but it wasn't easy. That was her little girl's picture up there; her daughter's things lay out in evidence bags. That odd feeling, that knot in her gut, it hadn't been about Jethro, it had been about Kennedy.

"This morning I signed for a special delivery package for Gibbs." Kate finally answered. "When he opened it we found these items inside." She showed Jenny what had been in the box. She tried not to notice when Jenny's body tensed up when her eyes landed on the bullet casing.

Jenny's chest hurt, it hurt so bad she couldn't breath. She picked up the plush floppy white rabbit with it's little pink flowered hat, Peggy Rose is what Kennedy had named her though Jenny didn't know why, her hand tightening on it just a little. Then her head snapped up as she asked, "Why was a box of my daughter's things sent to Gibbs?"

Tony's eyes went wide. "The Director has a kid?"

Kate and Ziva both shot him a look that made him back off the way a head slap would have.

"That's a really good question Madam Director." Gibbs said as he continued to glare at Jenny, ignoring everyone else in the room. Of course he was refereeing to her question about why they were sent to him, and not Tony's. "But I have questions of my own that need answered." The two stared at each other, neither flinching, neither backing down. Finally Gibbs said, "Where is she now? Your daughter," There was something about the way he said it that made everyone but Jenny take a step away from the two. "Where is she?"

"School." Jenny answered.

"Did you take her?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny shook her head. "Boarding school. Roedean, in Brighton, England."

"Call them." Gibbs ordered.

"If something would have happened they would have called me." Jenny said as she pulled out her phone. Turns out they were about to. As Jenny talked to the headmistress she started to get angrier, her panic rising quickly. When she ended the call, her hands fisted so no one could see her trembling as she said, "Kennedy never came back from her riding lesson."

The panic and fear in Jenny's eyes kept Gibbs from snapping at her. His gaze never left Jenny as he said, "Kate, get on the phone with Kennedy's school. Find out what you can and get one of our London field agents over there to check things out. DiNozza, you and Ziva find out what happen to that deliveryman. Abby, you keep doing what you're doing. Director, a word."

No one said anything, they barely breathed, as they watched Gibbs and Jenny walked out of the room and onto the elevator. Gibbs hit the button for Jenny's floor but when the car was between floors he flipped the stop switch. The elevator car went dark, emergency lightly kicking in a moment later. The moment Jenny had said that little girl was her daughter he had one question on his mind and one question only. "How old is she?"

"Ten." Jenny answered softly, her eyes locked on Jethro's.

"Paris…" Gibbs started, his hands clenching into fists.

"Was eleven years ago." Jenny cut in. She stared into his eyes. The heavy weight she'd been carrying around for the last ten years was feeling heavier then it ever had until finally she said, "Ten years and forty weeks ago, give or take."

Gibbs' jaw tightened, his knuckles were white, and his short neatly trimmed fingernails bit into his palms as he glared at her. "Is she mine?" He demanded, and when she didn't answer fast enough he asked again, "Is she mine!"

"Yes." Jenny admitted.

They stood there just looking at each other. Even now they still had feelings, they might even still be in love, but trust, either they never had it or it was now so broken it might never be fixed. "You never thought I might like to know that I had a daughter?"

"Jethro, I…" Jenny began but he didn't let her say more. He hit the switch and the elevator jerked to life. Now she couldn't stop the burning in her eyes as she said, "Jethro, please, please find her."

"You know I will." Gibbs replied, his voice dropping, softening. When the elevator stopped he got off, leaving Jenny standing there worried and scared because someone had their little girl, their beautiful little girl with her daddy's eyes.

The tires of the private jet screeched as the plane came to a stop on the runway. A ground crew hurried to secure it as the door popped out and the stairs were released. A large man stepped out first, a small auburn hair child cradled, asleep in his arms. From inside the plane a man's voice called out, "Be gentle with her. She's had a very long day."

The man carried the girl down the stairs and over to a waiting car. He secured her in the back seat, careful not to wake her, not that he could. The girl had been given a sedative after her retrieval from the stables of her school. He waited by the car until his boss was in the driver's seat and then stepped back, watching as the car pulled away before walking to a waiting SUV and climbing into the passenger side and following.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone at NCIS was on alert, everyone was tense, and emotions were running high. The Director's daughter was missing. Jenny couldn't remember ever feeling this helpless, this angry, or this scared before. Standing there watching Gibbs and his team talk about what they were finding out, and what they weren't finding out, Jenny couldn't stop the flashbacks. A week after she'd sent Jethro the Dear John letter telling him she wouldn't be joining him in DC, Jenny started feeling run down and ill but she didn't really pay it much attention until she realized she was late. She could remember the wash of mixed emotions she felt when the doctor confirmed that she was pregnant. She'd walked around in a cloud of uncertainty and fear for weeks after that. If marrying Jethro wasn't in her five point plan then having a baby certainly wasn't! But it was their baby, hers and Jethro's, and even though being with him, settling down with him wasn't what she'd chosen, she loved him, and this was their baby.

She must have sat down and wrote to him a hundred times in that first month after finding out, but nothing she said ever seemed right. She was afraid, of what she couldn't remember, but that fear kept her from reaching out to Jethro, from telling him she was pregnant with his child. She knew he was settled in DC, making his mark, building his teams, so she went back to Paris. She worked as a supervisory agent. She started working on building the connections that would end up leading her to where she was now. Kennedy had been born in Paris, spent the first years of her life in Germany, Cairo, and then London. Jenny was with her as much as she could be and when she wasn't Esme, Kennedy's nanny was right there. When she was old enough Jenny sent her to the most elite, what she thought was the most secure, boarding school in England. Now she wished she'd brought Kennedy with her. But there had been that fear again. How would she explain a ten year old with his blue eyes to Jethro? Plus, Kennedy really loved her school, so Jenny used that as an excuse to keep her secret.

"Director." Kate's voice cut through Jenny's fog, pulling her away from memories of that night on the rooftop under the lights of the Eiffel Tower and the midnight stars in the sky. The night she Jethro had been less then careful, letting their passions and desires take over unchecked.

Jenny blinked and looked at the five faces looking at her from various places in Gibbs' section of the bullpen. "Yes Agent Todd?"

"Can you think of anyone who would use Kennedy to get to you?" Kate repeated. They asked her the same question twice before Jenny snapped out of her daze.

"Of course I can." Jenny snapped. "But no one who would send her things to Gibbs instead of me."

"This did seem as if it were directed at Gibbs." Ziva pointed out, moving a little closer to Jenny as if she needed to protect her from the others.

"It doesn't make any sense." Tony spoke up. "Why would someone take Director Shepard's daughter and then send Gibbs the message that they have her?"

"Gibbs is the agency's top agent, yes?" Ziva offered. "Perhaps it was not directly meant for him. Perhaps sending it to Gibbs was in itself a message to the Director."

"They are friends." McGee offered up.

The agents looked at the two for a long moment before Tony added, "Close friends."

Gibbs and Jenny just kept looking at each other while the others tossed around theories. Whoever had Kennedy knew that she was Gibbs' daughter, though Jenny didn't know how. She never told anyone who Kennedy's father was, and as far as she knew no one knew about their affair. But Ziva was right, this was aimed at Gibbs not her and Jenny was going to cling to that as justification for not telling him. At for now that kept her from feeling like the villain. Finally breaking eye contact with Gibbs, Jenny looked at the team and said, "This isn't getting us anywhere. We need to figure out who has my daughter!"

"You have a daughter?" Ducky asked as he joined the crowd. The old Scotsman looked at his old friend and then over at Gibbs. The look on Gibbs face said it all. "Oh Jennifer you didn't."

"Not now, Ducky." She barked at the doctor. Jenny turned to look at Ducky, her eyes begging him not to bring it up right now. She took back her earlier thought, someone did know about her and Gibbs, and it wasn't surprising that Ducky would go right to the understanding that if Jenny had a child, it would have to be Gibbs' child. When she looked back to Jethro he was on the move. "Where are you going?"

"Abby." Was all the silver haired man said as he stalked a way from the group. He knew Jenny would follow. He knew she would be at his side as much as she could until this was all said and done. For now he could handle it, he could keep his anger, his hurt, his disbelief bottled up but he wasn't sure for how long. Jenny had hurt him once before, badly enough that it was almost as bad as loosing Shannon, but this, this hurt so much he could barely breathe.

Down in her lab Abby was running tests on the bullet casing that had been in the box. She looked at the casing, at the results on her screen, and then back at the casing under the microscope. "Oh this is hinky. This is worse than hinky. This is just plain bad, really bad, really really bad."

"What's bad Abs?" Gibbs asked as he and Jenny walked in.

Abby looked up at them, her lower lip trembled, and then she walked over and hugged them both. This wasn't going to go over well.

"What is it Abby?" Jenny asked softly. As upset as she was, as scared as she was, there was no way she could be harsh with Abby.

"I found a match in our data base for the casing." She said softly, carefully. She bit her lip as she looked at Gibbs. She really didn't want to say this out loud.

"Out with it Abs." Gibbs said gently but firmly.

Abby hesitated but then said, "It's the casing from the bullet that shot Kate."

Color rose instantly in Gibbs' face. Ari. Of course it was Ari. Several seconds passed, Jenny and Abby just stood there looking at him, unsure of what to say or do, worried that a single word or action might set him off. He'd been hunting Ari since Kate's shooting but the bastard was one step of ahead of him. Gibbs knew, he just knew that the son of a bitch would make a move soon; this was some kind of sick game for Ari. But he hadn't seen something like this coming, how could he? He didn't know he had a child, a daughter, how did Ari? Steely blue eyes glared at Jenny, he let all the anger he was feeling wash over her in that look, and then he slammed his fist into Abby's metal table before turning on his heel and leaving.

Jenny and Abby both jumped when Jethro hit that table. Jenny walked over and put her hand on Abby's shoulder to reassure her. "Good job, Abby. Thank you."

She didn't go after Gibbs. Jenny had someone else she needed to speak to first. From the third floor railing she bellowed down into the bullpen, "Officer David! A moment of your time, please, now." While she waited for Ziva to join her she unlocked the door to MTAC and ordered, "Everyone out, now." There were a few odd looks but all the techs secured their stations and then left the room. When Ziva entered Jenny hit the control that secured the room and then turned on her agent and friend. "Why does your brother have my daughter?"

Surprise washed over Ziva's face as she shook her head, "I have no idea, Jen. How do you know its Ari?"

"The bullet casing was a calling card." Jenny told the younger woman. She and Ziva had worked together for years, gone into some seriously dangerous situations, she trusted Ziva, but she needed someone to lash out at. "It's the casing from the bullet that injured Agent Todd."

"Ari has nothing against you, Jen." Ziva argued. "Why would he take Kennedy?"

"Because he does have something against her father." Jenny admitted. The shock on Ziva's face let Jenny know that Ziva hadn't been the one to tell Ari about Kennedy's connection to Gibbs. How could she have been? Ziva didn't know. "How did he find out, Ziva?"

"I don't know, Jen. I never said a word to him about you and Agent Gibbs. I swear it." Ziva said softly. She'd known that Jen and Gibbs had been close, that they'd been very close though Jenny had never come right out and said it, but she'd left that out of the information she'd given her brother out of respect and friendship for Jenny. "But now it makes sense, why her things were sent to Gibbs. It's Ari's next move in the game."

Jenny thought about that and then said, "I'm putting an end to your brother's games, Ziva. Taking my daughter was a fatal mistake."

When the two women rejoined the others in the bullpen Jenny looked around and then asked, "Where's Gibbs?"

"Wasn't he with you?" Tony asked.

"Damnit Gibbs!" Jenny swore at the absent man. Then she sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose and then filled everyone in. As she told them what Abby found, she paid close attention to Kate to make sure the younger woman was all right as she heard who was involved in this mess. She felt sorry for the younger woman. This was one hell of a way to come back to work.

After leaving Abby's lab Gibbs drove home. He stormed through the house, thundering down the basement stairs. Sure enough, just as he knew there would be, there was a message waiting for him. He walked over to the portable DVD player sitting on his workbench and hit play. Ari appeared on the screen. He was sitting in the leather seat of a private jet and sitting beside him was a tiny sleeping version of Jenny.

"Beautiful isn't she Jethro?" Ari asked as he looked at the sleeping child. Gibbs' hands fisted as he watched the man on the screen brush at Kennedy's hair. "She favors her mother, yes? But you should see her eyes, Jethro. She has your eyes." Ari paused for a moment, his attention still on the sleeping child beside him. Then he looked up at the camera, his eyes meeting Gibbs. "Really Jethro, one of these days you're going to have to tell me about this obsession you have with redheads. For me, it's about the eyes. I love a bright, intelligent gleam in the eyes. How is Caitlin? Did she get the flowers I sent?"

He was baiting him and Gibbs knew it.

"It's such a shame." Ari said, still looking into the camera. "That she'll never know her father. A girl should always be the center of her father's world. You can understand that can't you Jethro? You've been there before." There was a long pause. Gibbs could hear his heart beating in his ears. "That reminds me. Give Ziva my love. I'll be in touch."

The video paused on a close up of Kennedy. Gibbs looked her over; she seemed all right, just asleep. He reached out and traced her image with his fingertip. He could see Jenny in her, he could also see himself, but what really caused his chest to hurt was that he could see Kelly in her as well. "Not again." He said to himself, a moment later the DVD player flying. "Not again!"

Abby stared at her computer screen with a look of shock, awe, and pure glee. She'd finally gotten the results back on the DNA test she'd been running on the strand of hair. Even though they had a pretty good idea who it belonged to, she still needed a positive id. When Kate walked into the room she wasn't sure if she should be concerned or amused by the look on Abby's face. Walking over to her dark haired pigtail-wearing friend she asked, "Something interesting on the screen, Abs?"

"I have a little sister!" Abby said excitedly, her eyes bright and her smile even brighter. Then she blinked and toned her excitement down a little. "Well, kind of, sort of. I mean not really but kind of really."

"Abs?" Kate said in way that would focus the brilliant younger woman who tended to get overly excited about things.

"Oh, right, sorry." Abby stopped, took a breath, and then said, "I ran the DNA test on the hair sample."

Kate nodded. "It belonged too Kennedy Shepard."

Abby nodded. "Yes, it's a positive maternal match to Director Shepard." Abby was beaming. "I didn't just run it against her thought. It's also a positive paternal match to Gibbs."

Kate's dark hazel eyes went wide. "Gibbs? Our Gibbs?"

"Yeap." Abby said, smirking. "We so totally have a little sister. Is that's just awesome!"

"Do you think he knows?" Kate asked, looking concerned for Gibbs, and a little angry on his behalf.

Abby shrugged. "I think I saw him figure it out when we first id-ed her." Abby paused for a moment to think something through and then asked, "I wonder what this means for Tony's pool."

"What pool?" Kate asked.

"The did Gibbs and the Director have a thing pool." Abby answered.

Kate just shook her head and sighed. "Apparently I missed a lot while I was on leave."

"Oh!" Abby said suddenly and then threw her arms around her best friend. "Are you ok? I was worried about you. I was going to come up and check to make sure you were ok after hearing about Ari, but then the results came in and I got side tracked. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Abby." Kate reassured as she hugged the young woman back. "A little rattled maybe but I'm fine."

"We'll get him this time, Kate." Abby promised as she took a step back. "He got really stupid this time. I mean you have to be really out of your mind to go after Gibbs real kid. I mean just look how ticked off he was when Ari went after us, and we're just his fake kids!"

Kate smiled. "I don't think there's anything fake about you being his kid, Abby."

Abby giggled. "I so totally have a little sister!"

When Gibbs got back to NCIS he tossed the broken device he'd shoved in a freezer bag at McGee. "Fix that and find out you can from it." Then he turned on Ziva. "Did you tell him? When you were compiling dossiers on all of us, did you find out who she was and tell him?"

"No." Ziva said, meeting Gibbs' heated gaze and not backing away. "I didn't know. She never told me."

"Then how?" Gibbs demanded. "How the hell did Ari figure out that Kennedy is my daughter?"

Tony and McGee couldn't hide the shock. Tony's mouth had actually dropped like an anime character in one of McGee's cartoons. Gibbs had a daughter? Gibbs had a daughter with the Director?

"I don't know." Ziva told him. "But I'm working on finding out how. He isn't going to hurt her, Gibbs. He would never harm a child."

"How do you know that?" Gibbs asked, his voice a low grumble. "You don't know for sure do you? You're just saying that because he's your brother!"

Now McGee looked like an anime character too.

"You'd better hope that your faith in him is warranted, Ziva." Gibbs warned. "Because if I find her with so much as a scrapped knee I'm putting your damn brother in the damn ground. Am I clear?"

Ziva looked right into Gibbs eyes and nodded. "Yes, and so was Jen when she said the same thing." She paused for a moment and then added; "I've known Kennedy since she was small, I gave her the little cross she wears, if he's hurt her, I'll kill him myself."

She felt strange. It kind of felt like the time she had her tonsils out and she was waking up from the medicine they'd given her to put her to sleep. Kennedy moaned softly as she turned in the unfamiliar bed, her eyes opening slowly to take in her environment. The room was bright, neat, well decorated. There was a huge window letting in a lot of warm sun, and the smell of something she couldn't quiet place. This wasn't her room at school that was for sure. Slowly the girl sat up and rubbed at her forehead, she had a lingering headache from the drugs. Then the memory came back. She stepped out of the stables to find a man waiting for her. He'd had a badge and an id from NCIS, he'd told her that her mother had sent him, but when he didn't know their code word she panicked. That's when the big man grabbed her, she felt a prick in her arm, and everything went fuzzy.

Slowly Kennedy realized what was going on and the panic set in. She shot off the bed and ran for the door, she flung it open and ran down the hall, down the stairs. She'd just reached the front door of the house, which was locked, when a voice from behind her said, "Good morning little one. I hope you are feeling well. The sedative we gave you can sometimes cause a headache or a sick stomach. I do apologize."

Kennedy turned slowly towards the voice. It was the man who'd said he was from NCIS.

Ari smiled sweetly. "Don't be frightened. I'm not going to hurt you."

She didn't know what to say. Asking for her mom seemed babyish and stupid, but that's what she wanted to do. She could feel her eyes burning with tears and she hated it. She should be strong, fearless; she should be like her mom and Ziva. "Who are you? What do you want? Why did you take me?"

"So many questions." Ari said, still smiling sweetly. "Come, I will answer them all while you have a meal. It will help you feel better."

He held his hand out to her as if she were expected to trust him. He'd kidnapped her and he wanted her to trust him? "Is this about my Mom? Are you a terrorist?"

Ari laughed softly. "No, I am not a terrorist, and no, for me, this isn't about your mother."

Kennedy narrowed her eyes and raised a brow at the same time. "Then why have you kidnapped me?"

"I have my reasons." Ari answered. "But I promise, no harm will come to you. This isn't about you or your mother, at least not for me."

It took everything in her not to cry but she managed. She could take care of herself until her mom and Ziva got there, and she had no doubt that they wouldn't come find her. She just hoped they hurried. She didn't know if she could be strong for long, not when every single thought in her head was, I really want my Mom.


	3. Chapter 3

He stood by the railing of the paddock with the phone camera pointing at the girl who was getting to know a beautiful black Arabian horse. He'd been watching her long enough to know she had a affection for animals, for horses in particular, so he'd brought her here as a way of hopefully softening the trauma of the experience. Even monsters like him could have a weakness for children. He was being honest when he said he meant her no harm. Once he had thirty seconds of video he sent it as a text to Gibbs.

When Gibbs got the text he wasn't sure what he was looking at so he tossed the phone to McGee. "What is that? What is it doing?"

"It's a video text, Boss." McGee answered.

The team had been working on finding Kennedy non-stop. The agents in London they were working with had hit all the small private airports near Kennedy's school and managed to get a positive id from a picture of Ari, but no one remembered seeing a child. There wasn't much they could get from the dvd and the player that had been left by Ari in his basement had been smashed beyond repair when Gibbs threw it against the wall. Tony, having experience with and a fondness for expensive things, was able to roughly id the kind of plane Ari had been on by it's interior. He and Kate were working on tracking it down.

"Play it McGee." Gibbs ordered.

McGee nodded. He plugged Gibbs phone into his computer and opened the message. Everyone held their breaths, not knowing what they were about to see. Jenny actually grabbed Gibbs' hand and squeezed it as hard as she could as the video opened and began to play. She relaxed when she saw Kennedy was alright and let go of Gibbs' hand, bringing her own hand up to her mouth to smoother a soft, scared, sob. "She loves horses. I finally gave in and let her take lessons this year."

"Can you trace it McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Already working on it Boss." McGee answered.

Gibbs didn't reply. He was already on his way to the elevator. As angry as he was at her, as hurt as he was, he couldn't deny Jenny that moment of comfort. If he were honest with himself a small part of him took comfort from her touch as much as she'd taken from his. They couldn't go like this much longer, they needed to talk about this, but right now his single-minded focus was getting Kennedy back safe and sound and finally dealing with Ari. As he rode down to the morgue a tiny tick curled the corner of his lip. His daughter liked horses. He wondered what else she liked. What was her favorite color? What was her favorite sweet? What kind of music did she like? What other kinds of things was she into?

"What do you got Ducky?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the morgue.

"A sad young man with a long history of substance abuse." Ducky answered. "There were lethal levels of benzoylmethylecgonine and diacetylmorphine in his system and evidence of long term consumption of those particular intoxicants."

"Coke and heroine addict." Gibbs said as he turned this new piece of the puzzle over in his head. The poor s.o.b. was a throw away message boy to Ari and nothing more, a high functioning junkie in need of a fix who took a hundred bucks from a strange man to deliver an package.

"Fingerprints came back as Linux Billows, a part time employee of a delivery service with obvious clearance to the Yard." Ducky said as he looked over the open file. "It doesn't appear that Ari had anything to do with his death but we know well that appearances can be deceiving when it comes to Mister Haswari."

Gibbs caught the tone in Ducky's voice. He knew the good doctor disliked Ari, maybe even hated him after shooting Kate, but hate wasn't really the kind of emotion he associated with his dearest, oldest friend. "Anything else?"

"Nothing that will help you find our missing girl I'm afraid." Ducky said with a sad sigh. "I'm feeling rather helpless on this one, Jethro."

"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said and started to leave but then stopped in the doorway. "Ducky."

"Yes?" Ducky replied.

"Check on her for me?" Jethro asked.

Ducky smiled and gave an affirming nod. "Of course. I've been meaning to have words with her all afternoon."

As much as she wanted to make the world stop until she had her daughter safe in her arms, Jenny couldn't, which meant there were still other things she had to see to. She had to trust Gibbs and his people to find Kennedy, but once they had nothing was going to stop her from going with them to get her. But for now, she had an agency to run. She was in her office, standing near the window looking out over the water when her intercom buzzed. She groaned softly. She'd just finished a meeting with her deputy, delegating most of what was on the table to him for the time being. Cynthia's voice broke through the silence of her office, announcing that Doctor Mallard wanted to see her. Jenny sighed but said, "Let him in, Cynthia."

She didn't turn from the window when she heard the door open and close. She didn't turn to look at Ducky as he walked across the room towards her. She didn't even stop him from taking the phone from her hand. She did let her eyes flick to him as he looked at the picture on the screen. "Just before I moved back to DC we went on vacation." She said softly. "Anywhere she wanted to go so of course being a ten year old girl she picked Disney World."

The picture was of Kennedy and the blue alien Stitch. Ducky smiled as he looked at it. The little girl was the spitting image of both her parents. For a moment he felt a little cheated out of getting to know the child, but this wasn't about him or his friendships with these two people he loved and cared about so much, because to him they were his family. No, this was about two people making mistakes; making choices that kept keeping them from one another. "Why didn't you tell him, Jennifer?"

"I didn't know how at first." Jenny said softly and after several long moments to think over her final answer. She knew this question was coming and she'd been trying for the life of her to find an answer that didn't make her out to be a compete and utter bitch. Truth was, she had been a bitch, and a selfish one at that. "I was afraid at first. I'd just sent him a Dear John letter, Ducky. What was I suppose to do? Show up a month later and say, "Guess what Jethro? I changed my mind. I will marry you. Want to know why? I'm pregnant!"

"Maybe not in that particular way, no." Ducky replied as he made Jenny turn to face him. "You kept him from his child, Jennifer. He's missed out on ten years of her life. If this horrible situation would have never happened would you have ever told him?"

"I don't know." Jenny said honestly. "Every time I thought of telling him I'd find an excuse not too." She sighed as she moved away from Ducky and across the room to pour a drink. "Each new wife, each new ex-wife, each new assignment he took on, each time his team changed. The excuses just became easier and easier to find." She paused to take a large drink of bourbon. Then she looked Ducky right in the eye and admitted, "She's my little girl, Ducky, mine, and I was being selfish."

"Yes my dear you were." Ducky agreed, taking on the tone of a disapproving father. "And that selfishness has not only hurt Jethro but Kennedy as well. Hasn't she ever wondered about her father?"

"She knows he was a man I loved very much." Jenny said softly.

Ducky shook his head as he walked over to Jenny. "I'm disappointed in you my dear. I wish I could say I understand but I don't. All I can say is that you have a lot of work ahead of you, a lot of mending to do when we get her home." He saw her tremble, he saw the way she dropped her head to hide her face, to hide her tears. Ducky moved closer and pulled Jenny into his arms, hugging her as if she were his daughter. "He will bring her home, Jennifer, have no doubt of that."

McGee wasn't able to get a trace on the text message sent to Gibbs' phone. He would get two or three hits and then loose it. When a second video came in, this one a message to Jenny, it was bounced off a totally different network. He was just starting the video when Jenny and Ducky joined them for an update.

"Hi Mom." Kennedy said into the camera. "I'm ok, I'm not hurt or anything. Mister Ari is being nice to me. He even knew that jaffa cakes and jammy dodgers are my favorite."

"Girl after my own heart." Ducky said softly as he patted Jenny's arm.

"He said to tell you that this isn't personal, its just business, and he'll have me home soon." The girl continued. "He said to tell Special Agent Gibbs, you might have missed out on this one, but you'll be seeing the other one soon." She looked off camera. "Was that right?" No verbal response but Kennedy nodded as if she'd been given on. Then she looked at the camera again. "I have to go now, Mom. I love you. I miss you. Bye."

As the video ended Gibbs stormed off. His team had turned to look at him just as thunderclouds darkened his eyes, but no one had the change to say anything. Then Ziva turned to McGee. "Play it again."

Kate saw a flicker of emotion in the Director's eyes. "Office David. I don't think we need…"

"Play it again." Ziva demanded.

McGee looked at Jenny who nodded. She knew Ziva wouldn't hurt her by making her watch her daughter's kidnap video on repeat if it weren't important. She watched as Ziva took a step closer to the screen and titled her head ever so slightly to the left.

There was a look of concentration on Ziva's face that melted suddenly into a bright smile. "Oh good job akhot katana."

"What is it Ziva?" Jenny asked as she came up behind her friend.

"See the way her fingers are twitching on the arm of the chair?" Ziva asked.

"Poor thing." Tony said. "She must be nervous and sacred to death."

Ziva shook her head. "She's signing."

"Huh?" Tony replied. "How?"

Ziva beamed proudly. "It's a mix if Morse code and Hebrew finger spelling." She blushed a little as she admitted. "We came up with it together so we could talk without people understanding what we were saying."

"And by people you mean me?" Jenny asked with a raised brow and the first real hint of a smile since she found out her baby had gone missing.

"Well, yes." Ziva said honestly.

Kate would have to admit later she was impressed. "What did she say?"

"K L G two zero five nine." Ziva answered. "Black. XJL. Cat."

Everyone looked confused until Ducky said, "Could she have been refereeing to a car? A Jaguar XJL perhaps?"

"And a license plate." Jenny added, her smiling coming out full force. "That's my girl. DiNozzo…"

"Bolo." Tony said. "Already on it, Director."

Jenny turned to Ziva with such a look of gratitude. "Remind me later to thank you for teaching my ten year old how to talk behind my back."

When she found him it wasn't a total surprise that he was on the firing range. Whatever the message Ari sent via their daughter meant, it had set him off in away that Jenny hadn't ever seen before. She stood off to the side and waited for Jethro to finish emptying his clip before walking over and putting her hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, to meet her gaze, and it nearly knocked her on her ass. The pain she saw there before he could cover it up made her chest hurt. When he took off the noise canceling headphones she said, "My apologizes are never going to be enough to make up for the time you've lost with her, but I am sorry Jethro."

"Ten years of her life, Jen!" Jethro said, his voice low, the grumble of a wounded beast.

"I know." Jenny said softly.

"The fact you had her at all shows you can think about someone besides yourself." He spat at her, trying to hurt her because she'd hurt him again. "But that was obviously the only time you ever did."

That hurt and it showed. "Of course I had her! How could I not have her? She's our child, Jethro, yours and mine!"

There was a flicker of something in her eyes that Jethro hadn't expected to see. She still loved him. "Was there something you wanted to say to me Madam Director?"

Jenny reined in her emotions at the sound of her title. "Officer David picked up on a message Kennedy added for herself to the video. Make, model and plate of a car. DiNozzo's running it now."

"How did she sneak in a message?" Gibbs asked. "I didn't notice anything."

"Apparently they've been conspiring against me for years." Jenny answered.

There was a long moment between them before Gibbs asked, "Anything else?"

Jenny looked into his eyes and said, "She's a lot like you. Stubborn as hell, hates to be wrong about anything, fiercely loyal and protective of the ones she loves. She broods like you too. She has your smile Jethro, the smirk were one side of your lip goes higher then the other. And she's fearless to the point of being reckless sometimes. She broke her arm when she was five when she fell off the stone wall outside our house. She refused to stop climbing up there until she could walk from one end to the other, and countless time outs and repeated smacks on the behind didn't detour her. She was right back up on that wall, cast and all, a week later. She finally stopped when she walked along it back and forth one whole time, mission complete, and she moved on to her next goal."

He stood there listening, picturing it in his mind, but didn't say anything. Some of those qualities came from Jenny as much as they came from him. Jenny could be a dog with a bone over things sometimes.

"I made a mistake Jethro." Jenny said softly. "I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, to both of you. I'm sorry."

Gibbs stood there, glaring at her.

"Would it help if I let you smack me in the back of the head?" Jenny offered, trying to lighten the mood.

He wanted to tell her that what he wanted to do was take her over his knee but he didn't get the chance, though he was sure she saw it in his eyes because she took a step back from him. "What Kate?"

"Um," The young woman said as she looked between Gibbs and Jenny. "Abby has something, maybe."

A few more seconds passed between him and Jenny before Gibbs walked off. Would he be this hurt, this angry, if it weren't for the fact he still loved her? He would always love her; he'd come to terms with that a long time ago. Trusting her however, now that wasn't such a given anymore. On his way back to the office he stopped to get Abby a caf-pow and himself a coffee. Walking into the lab he handed his girl her drink and said, "You got something for me Abs?"

Abby grinned a beaming grin as she accepted her prize. "I have this friend Maclom Hillsworth. He's a dendrologist, which means he's a scientist that specializes in wooded plants, like trees. I was watching the videos Ari," She made at face that said his name was bitter in her mouth. "Sent and I noticed the woods in the background. There was something odd about them so I sent stills to Malcolm."

Gibbs listened as Abby put up pictures of trees and explained that the type of tree she saw and her friend identified only grew in a certain part of Virginia. As she pulled up a map he picked up a doll in a box that was sitting on her table.

"That's a Monster High doll." Abby said when she caught Gibbs looking at the toy. "It's the Sweet 1600 Draculaura doll. It's for Kennedy."

Gibbs smiled at that. "Where do the trees grow Abs?"

"The Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge." Abby answered. "And the surrounding area."

Gibbs set the doll down and kissed Abby's cheek. "Good job, Abs."

They were getting closer. It wouldn't be long now; they would know were Kennedy was and they'd go to get her. Which meant Jethro needed to run home and pick something up. Jenny watched from the window as Jethro ripped out of the parking lot. She let a small smile tug on her lips. "Just a little longer baby. We'll be there soon. Daddy and I are coming to get you."


	4. Chapter 4

What kind of kidnapper played x-box with the their captive? Ari was strange; Kennedy wasn't sure what to make of him. He was kind, he talked to her like one of her teachers, like a grown up friend. He was sitting in the chair a few feet away playing Fifa football with her, talking smack about her favorite club in a jovial way. Shouldn't she be tied to a chair in a windowless room with duck tape over her mouth? Not sitting in a lush living room playing expensive video games and stuffing herself sick with cookies and cakes? Shouldn't there be a scary man with a gun, that gun aimed at her, while Ari made ransom calls or something? There were men with guns. The big man who'd grabbed her at the stables was never far from Ari, and there was a gun in his shoulder holster. There were men outside too, two of them had rifles, and that scared her. Despite how Ari acted, Kennedy knew this was a dangerous situation, but it still wasn't what she thought something like this would be like. At the end of their game she looked over at the tall, dark haired man she'd just beaten for the third time in a row. "My Mom isn't going to let you just hand me back and not arrest you."

"It isn't going to happen like that." Ari said as he set his controller down and looked over at the little auburn haired girl. So much spunk, so much bravado, he couldn't help but think of his sister and that made him smile. "Your mother, or more likely her people, will come here for you. I will not be here."

"You're going to tell them where I am after you leave?" Kennedy asked.

Ari shook his head, "Not directly. It wouldn't be much fun if I just told them where you were, now would it? I'll led them here, but not before it's time."

"Time for what?" The girl asked.

The man smiled, "Why don't I send Nassir for burgers?"

Kennedy was her mother's daughter and couldn't be thrown off so easily. "If you're not the one who's trying to hurt my Mom, who is?"

Ari didn't respond.

"You told me your name." Kennedy said with a flicker of fear. "I'll tell them who you are. You don't seem bothered by that."

Ari smiled, "They know that I'm the one who has you."

"This isn't how this kind of thing works in the comic books." Kennedy told him.

Ari laughed. "You read to many comic books, little one."

Sharp blue eyes took the odd man in for several seconds before Kennedy said, "Why do you hate this Gibbs guy so much?"

"I don't hate Special Agent Gibbs." Ari said as he moved from the chair to the sofa where Kennedy was sitting. "I actually have a lot of respect for him." The girl gave him a look that made him chuckle. He thought about how to explain his relationship with Gibbs to a ten year old and then decided to go with something she'd said earlier. "In your comic books the hero always has that one advisory that pushes him to his limits, yes? The one who in a weird way makes the hero better after each encounter?"

"Yeah." Kennedy replied. "Batman has the Joker, Superman has Lex Luther, the X-Men have Magneto."

Ari nodded. "That is what I do for Gibbs and what he does for me. We push each other, we force each other to be better at what we are and what we do."

Kennedy thought about this a moment and then said, "So are you a psycho clown, a billionaire with an ego bigger then his bank account, or a broken man with a god complex?"

Again Ari laughed. Reaching out he stroked the girl's hair, his thumb brushing over her cheek almost affectionately. "A little of each."

With the information they had, the Arabian horse, the unique trees, the traffic cam photo of a black Jag with the plate number Kennedy had slipped in heading south from Campbell airfield, they were able to narrow it down to the most likely location. "Grab your gear!" Gibbs called out after looking over the map on the plasma.

"I'm coming with you." Jenny said before turning to head upstairs to get her things.

Gibbs stopped her by the stairs, grabbing her gently by the arm. "Let us handle this."

"Jethro." Jenny said through clinched teeth.

"You're to emotional." Gibbs replied.

Jenny gave him a seething look. "And you're not? You've been hunting Ari for months and now you have your shot at him. You can't tell me you're not overly emotional."

Jethro stared into her eyes for a long moment, saying more in a look then he ever could in words.

The seconds felt like hours as Jenny looked into Jethro's eyes. Finally she nodded.

While Gibbs and Jenny had been having their moment Ziva had grabbed her stuff and then ran downstairs. She rooted around in the evidence bin until she found what she was looking for, stuffing it in her pocket and then heading out to the car.

"I'm driving." Tony announced. "Kate is still recovering."

Kate raised an eyebrow at that. "What?"

"Ziva drives worse then Gibbs." McGee told her.

Kate laughed. "No one drives worse then Gibbs."

Tony and McGee looked at each other and shrugged. "Ok, Ziva can drive."

Before heading out they got their orders from Gibbs and then piled into the car. Five minutes after leaving the base Kate wished she'd kept her mouth shut. Ziva really did drive worse then Gibbs.

"Purple poka doted rhinoceros." Ziva said suddenly as she weaved pass two cars that were in her way. Three sets of eyes looked at her oddly and it made her a little uncomfortable.

Tony turned his head to glance at the woman beside him. "Did you just have a stroke or something?"

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Kennedy isn't going to trust any of you if you don't know the code word. She's likely to put up a fight if you don't let her know her mother really did send you."

"Purple poka doted rhinoceros?" McGee asked from the back seat. He was sitting next Kate who was trying to hide an amused smile.

Surveillance was first on their list of things to do. They needed positive confirmation that Kennedy was on the premises and then they needed to assess possible hostiles and other key factors. Gibbs had taken the high ground and was watching the house through binoculars. The plan was for Ziva to take out the armed men, McGee working as her spotter, while Tony and Kate went in to get Kennedy. None of them were to engage Ari. Ari was his.

"Sighting confirmed." Kate's voice came softly over the earwigs. "Second floor, left side, fourth window."

From his position Gibbs couldn't see that particular window but he trusted his people. "Ziva." He said into his microphone piece.

"On it." Came Ziva's reply.

Lying in the brush Gibbs switched from the binoculars to the scope of his sniper rifle. He watched the two men with assault rifles fall just before his people approached the house and surrounding stables. His gaze lingered for a moment on Kate. He'd thought about having her join him. She'd felt guilty over not killing Ari that night in the morgue, and he knew that her emotions where even more jumbled following the shooting. She wanted Ari almost as badly as he did, but it was his job to protect his people, and that included from this kind of thing. If he could keep them from taking a life by doing it himself he would. And that went for Ziva too. He would protect her from having to kill her own brother. Of course, he would have to keep Ari from killing him first.

"Ari." Gibbs said, his hand on his rifle, his finger on the trigger.

"Jethro." Ari greeted with a sick smile as he pressed the barrel of his own rifle to Gibbs' head.

Gibbs was careful not to move. "You knew we were coming."

"Of course I did." Ari replied as he kicked Gibbs' rife clear and then reaching for his side arm before backing up. He kept his aim focused on Gibbs' head as he let the other man slowly get to his feet. "There was a very clever bit of code on that first video text I sent you. It turned your phone into a surveillance device."

"How did you find out?" Gibbs asked as if they were having a polite conversation over coffee instead of a standoff that would end in one of them dying. He stood there; face to face with the man he'd been hunting for months, looking him right in the eye. The man who'd nearly killed Kate, who'd kidnapped his daughter, who'd focused himself into Gibbs' life for his own dark reasons.

Ari smirked, "That Kennedy was your daughter when not even you knew?" He paused as if waiting for a reply from Gibbs but then continued. "An old associate has been keeping tabs on your Director Shepard for quite some time now. When I found the vintage coffee tin with the photographs in your house I started asking around about the pretty little redhead. I knew she must have been important to you, she is the only other woman you kept reminders of, well, other then Shannon, may she rest in peace. My inquiries of your lady friend lead me to this associate. He knew the truth about Kennedy's paternity."

"A name, Ari." Gibbs demanded. Knowing that Ari had been in his home didn't bother Gibbs; he'd already known that. Knowing he'd found the mementoes of his time with Jenny, knowing he'd gone though things that were special to him, that pissed him off. So did the causal way he spoke of Shannon. "I want a name."

Ari chuckled. "And what good would that do you, Jethro? You won't be alive to use it." He aimed his rifle at Gibbs' chest, his heart. "I've enjoyed our game, Jethro." Ari said darkly. "You've been a challenge and I love a good challenge. But you're a distraction and I have other things to do, so the game must come to an end."

"What was it about me Ari?" Gibbs asked. If he could keep Ari talking, focused on himself, then maybe he wouldn't notice that Gibbs was going for his backup piece. "Why latch on to me the way you did?"

"It's really very simple, Jethro." Ari answered. "And I'm sure Ziva will agree. You remind me of our father."

"You nearly killed my people, you kidnapped a little girl, and you blew up my favorite coffee shop because you have daddy issues?" Gibbs asked his annoyance and anger clear in his voice.

"Men like my father see sons as an extension of themselves." Ari began. "From the moment of my birth…"

Gibbs listened to Ari's monolog. He listened to him talk about his father, about his mother, and what got to Gibbs most was knowing Ziva could hear him as well. It wouldn't be easy for her to hear these things about her father, and Gibbs could only hope she'd listened to him and switched channels like he told the team to do once they were inside. Gibbs knew how easily a death, a murder, could make the one left behind into something dark. He could have gone that way after Shannon and Kelly were killed, but then again there was a huge difference between him and Ari. He was a man. Ari was a twisted little boy with daddy issues. Everything he'd done, hurting Kate, going after Abby and Jenny, taking his daughter, he did it all because he was using Gibbs as a stand in for his father. He couldn't punish Eli David so he was going to punish Gibbs instead. This was bullshit.

"I am sorry Kennedy won't get the chance to know her father." Ari said, his finger tightening ever so slightly on the trigger. "Good-bye, Jethro."

The sound of the shot rang in his ears. The look of shock on Ari's face before his body fell would be something Gibbs remembered for the rest of his life. For all his careful planning and plotting, for all the carefully played moves in his little game, Ari hadn't taken one very important detail into account. "I thought I told you to stay behind."

"Since when do I ever listen to you?" Jenny asked, her gun still raised, still trained on the man she'd just killed.

Ari hadn't taken Jenny Shepard into consideration.

While Gibbs and Ari had their stand off, while Jenny laid in wait to deal with the man who'd terrorized her child, the man she loved, and her agents, a small gun fight had broken out down at the house. When Ziva walked into the house Nassir shot at her, she returned fire; the other men were alerted and came to see what was happening. This let Kate and Tony sneak in the back way. They quietly made their way to the room where Kate had seen Nassir put Kennedy. The door wasn't locked so with gun drawn Tony went in.

Kennedy had heard the gunfire and it scared her. She didn't know what was happening, and then she heard someone coming. She'd grabbed the first thing she saw, a lamp, and hid. When Tony walked in all she saw was his drawn gun, fear washed over her, fight or flight kicked in, and she hit Tony on the head with the lamp.

He went down and she was about to hit him again when Kate called out. "Purple poka doted rhinoceros." As she holstered her gun and held her hands up to show she was unarmed.

"What?" Kennedy said, blinking as if she were coming out of a daydream.

Kate's voice was soft, gentle, and her smile was reassuring. "Purple poka doted rhinoceros." She could see the little girl's whole body just let go and relax.

"My Mom sent you?" Kennedy asked as she dropped the lamp.

Kate nodded. "Yes, your Mom sent us, we're here to take you to her. I'm Kate and that's Tony. We're NCIS agents, your Mom's agents." She watched the girl take it all in and suddenly rush forward, wrapping her arms around Kate's middle. Kate was caught of guard for a second but quickly returned the hug. "It's ok now, Kennedy."

"Oww." Tony moaned as he stumbled to his feet, his right hand cradling the back of his head. There was a touch of whiny little boy in his voice as he radioed Ziva and McGee. "We have the little coffee bean."

"Copy that." McGee's voice came back. "I'll let the Director know."

They had to wait for Ziva's replay before they could move. Finally after several long minutes of waiting, "Grounds are secure."

"Come on sweetie." Kate said, her arm still protectively around the girl. "Lets get you out of here."

Kennedy just nodded. The only thing on her mind was seeing her Mom. Now that she was that much closer to doing so everything that had happened was really starting to sink in. She let Kate lead her downstairs, her bright blue eyes darting around looking for Ari, for Nassir, but what she found instead of her kidnappers was the one other person besides her mother who made her feel safe. "Ziva!"

Ziva's face lit up as soon as she saw the child. Unlike Kate she was more then ready for the projectile Kennedy became as the girl threw herself into Ziva's arms. She wrapped her arms around Kennedy, hugging her tight, and whispering to her softly.

"I knew you'd come." Kennedy said as she clung to Ziva. "I knew it."

"Always." Ziva said softly. "Didn't I promise you that when I gave you this?"

Kennedy's eyes lit up when Ziva pulled out her little gold cross.

The team, along with Kennedy who's hand was firmly gripped in Ziva's, was just making their way out of the house when Gibbs' black dodge charger came ripping down the road kicking up a cloud of dust. It stopped within inches of the matching car McGee had driven over from where they'd left it. Gibbs was the first one out of the car. He stood there looking over the hood at the girl at Ziva's side, his little girl. Their eyes met and that was all it took. In that instant Leroy Jethro Gibbs lost his heart completely to a tiny redhead with bright blue eyes. He smiled, and a moment later she smiled back. Yeap, he was done. They hadn't even met yet and he was tied around her little finger.

The spell was broken when the passenger side door opened and Jenny stepped out. The moment she saw her mother all her bravery, all her courage, melted away. It no longer mattered that Ari had been nice to her, what mattered was he'd stolen her away from a safe place, and away from her mother. What mattered now wasn't his reassurance that she'd see her mother again, but her fears that she wouldn't. Dropping Ziva's hand Kennedy called out, "Mommy!" Before running as hard as she could right into Jenny's waiting arms.

Jenny clung to her little girl, holding her as close and as tight as she could. Somehow holding Kennedy in her arms made this whole thing that much more real. Feeling her daughter's heart beating against her own chest, made the reality of what happened hit her like a ton of bricks. The thought of not having Kennedy in her life made Jenny's eyes sting with tears and her body tremble. Pulling back a bit Jenny raised her hands to cup Kennedy's face, as she looked her over with a careful mother's eyes. "Are you alright?"

The girl nodded as tears welled in her eyes and then spilled over her cheeks when she blinked. "I'm ok. He didn't hurt me."

"Ok." Jenny said as she nodded. She moved her hands down to Kennedy's upper arms and then back to her face as if she couldn't bear not touching her. A small frightened part of her was scared that if she let the girl go she'd wake up to find this was a dream and her baby was still in the hands of a monster.

Gibbs watched Jenny and their daughter with a small, soft smile on his lips. Then he looked up at his team and noticed Tony holding an ice pack to the back of his head. "You hurt DiNozzo?"

"I'm good Boss." Tony replied.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked, his tone telling the younger man not to bother trying to cover up whatever it was.

Tony licked his lips, looking a little sheepish as he said; "She smacked me in the back of the head, Boss."

"With a lamp." Kate said, trying not to snicker.

"He scared me!." Kennedy said softly. "He came in with a gun! I heard gunshots!"

"Back of the head huh?" Gibbs asked.

Tony nodded. "It was a long lamp."

Gibbs looked kind of proud.

As they were gearing up to leave the scene, Jenny looked torn. She knew that they needed to talk to Kennedy, to ask her about Ari and what she might have seen or heard, but all she wanted to do right now was take her baby home, wrap her up in her arms and never let her go.

Jethro saw the thoughts swirling around in Jenny's head play out in her eyes. "Take her home, Jen." She looked up at him and gave a short nod. "Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

"I'll take you." Ziva offered and before they could stop themselves Kate, Tony and McGee all said, "No!"

Kennedy laughed. "I've been in a car with Zi before." She told them, the first real sparkle since being found twinkling in her eyes. "It's better then Space Mountain!"

"Gibbs will take us home." Jenny said firmly but gently. She gave her friend a warm and grateful smile. She'd noticed Kennedy's necklace was back where it should be, around the little girl's neck, and she knew Ziva had given it to her. They both knew that when Kennedy was scared, especially if she was trying to hide that she was scared, she found comfort in rubbing the little gold cross between her fingers. "It'll be ok."

Ziva nodded. She shifted her gaze to Kennedy and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, akhot katana."

Kennedy moved away from her mother long enough to hug Ziva. She liked the sound of Ziva calling her little sister a lot better then Ari calling her little one. There was love and affection behind Ziva's nickname; Kennedy wasn't sure what she'd heard in Ari's. Had she heard affection in his voice just to keep herself from being frightened?

As he drove them home Gibbs kept watching Jenny and Kennedy through the rear view mirror. He watched as the woman he loved whispered softly, soothingly to the little girl, who despite the seatbelt she was wearing, was curled into her mother's side. Their little girl, with Jenny's hair, his eyes, Jenny's laugh from what he could tell. The little girl who whacks people with lamps because like her parents she always came out fighting.

Glancing in the mirror again Jethro's eyes met Kennedy's and they shared a long look. Something, he couldn't explain what, in that look let him know that rescuing the girl was actually going to be the easiest part of this whole situation. Jethro smirked. For the first time since all this began he realized something. He was getting a second chance. Walking Jenny and Kennedy inside, hearing Jenny asking him to stay, he wondered what else he might get a second chance at.


	5. Chapter 5

Jethro stayed with them until Kennedy had fallen asleep and then carried her up to Jenny's bedroom, because Jenny wasn't about to let the girl out of her sight any time soon. "She'll be alright." He'd said as she'd walked him down the stairs and to the door. She knew that he'd stayed as long as he did for Kennedy, there was a lot to work out between them before he stayed for her, so she'd simply said goodnight and locked the door behind him. Kennedy slept in her mother's arms all night, but Jenny didn't sleep at all. If she wasn't soothing away Kennedy's nightmares she was watching her daughter sleep, watching her little chest rise and fall with each breath. Then her mind would wander to Jethro and the mistakes she'd made. Ducky had been right. If she were going to fix things between her and Jethro, and her and Kennedy when the girl found out the truth, she was going to have to put a lot of effort into it.

Jenny hadn't left the office since finding out Kennedy was missing and the furthest thing from her mind was calling to tell Noemi so her housekeeper was more then a little surprised and shocked the next morning when Jenny told her Kennedy was home. She'd explained a little about what happened because she wanted people around her to be aware that Kennedy might not be herself for a while. Her point was made very clear when Kennedy woke up screaming for her because she'd found herself alone.

"I'm right here sweetheart." Jenny said as she climbed back onto her bed and beside her little girl. "I'm right here, honey." She reassured as she pulled the girl to her, wrapping her arms around her and kissing the top of her head. "It's ok baby. It's going to be ok."

After getting Kennedy calmed down and relaxed, Jenny sent her off to get showered and dressed. She used that time to call Kennedy's school to let them know she was all right and to tell them she wouldn't be returning. There was no way Jenny was ever sending Kennedy off to boarding school again. One of the many things she learned over this whole ordeal was that life was too random and too sudden to have her daughter so far away all the time. She would be keeping Kennedy at home with her where she belonged from now on. Plus, it would be hard for Kennedy to get to know her father if she were at boarding school, and Jenny was realizing just how badly she wanted Kennedy to know her father.

"Aren't you hungry sweetheart?" Jenny asked as she watched Kennedy pushing her eggs around her plate.

Kennedy shook her head. "Not really." But she took a few bites anyway because she knew that if she didn't eat her mother would fuss. She took a few more bites of her breakfast and then pushed the plate away as she looked up at her mother. "I have to go talk to people about what happened don't I?"

Jenny nodded. "Yes, but it'll be fine honey. I'll be there, and Ziva, and you can talk to Gibbs."

Gibbs, he was the reason Ari had kidnapped her in the first place. "Do I have to?"

"Yes Kennedy, you have too." Jenny said gently but firmly. "We need to know what happened."

"You know what happened!" Kennedy replied. "I was kidnapped from my school where I should have been safe and it's all Gibbs fault!"

Jenny watched as her ten year old stormed out of the dinning room and didn't really shake off her shock until she heard those little feet pounding up the stairs and then a door slammed shut. After downing the rest of her coffee in one gulp Jenny followed her daughter upstairs. She knocked on the door of Kennedy's bedroom and shook her head. This wasn't how she pictured surprising her daughter with the pink, black, and white bedroom she'd put together for her. With a soft sigh Jenny walked in and over to the bed where Kennedy was laying, her face buried in a fuzzy pillow. "Kennedy, talk to me."

Kennedy just shook her head. She didn't want to talk but when her mom started rubbing her back, she didn't pull away from the comfort. After awhile she shifted positions so she was laying with her head in her mom's lap. Her voice was soft as she said, "My room's really pretty."

"I'm glad you like it." Jenny replied, a soft smile on her lips.

"I really like the black bits." Kennedy said as she looked around the room. The walls were done in strips of light pale pink and medium bright pink. The bed was white, the bedding pink with black poka dots and black trim. Her curtains were pink and white with a black valance. There were black-stenciled outlines on the walls, one of the Eiffel Tower and one of Big Ben. She really loved the black and pink pillow with the white poodle wearing a furry hat.

Jenny chuckled softly as she quickly wiped tears from under her eyes before Kennedy could notice them. "You're really going to like Abby."

When they got to NCIS Jenny made sure they went straight to her office pretty much unseen. After introducing Kennedy to Cynthia she left the two inside while she went to intercept Jethro. He had a sixth sense when it came to her and she knew he'd be on his way to see her. Sure enough he was heading right towards her. She stopped him just outside the outer office and then moved them away from the door, closer to the railing. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to talk to her right now."

"Jen." Jethro grumbled, giving her a look that said she'd better have a damn good reason or he'd take her up on the offer to give her a good smack.

"She blames you Jethro." Jenny said carefully but honestly. "She needs someone to be angry with and because she thinks Ari took her because of you, you're the one she's aiming that anger at."

"He did take her because of me." Jethro replied. He moved to stand against the railing, wrapping his hands around the cold metal.

"This isn't all on you Jethro." Jenny said as she moved to stand beside him. "Ari said someone gave him the information on us because they have issues with me, not you."

"We need to know who." He said as he turned his head to look at her. Even if Kennedy weren't involved in this he would be setting his sights on whoever was out to get Jen. He was not ok with the idea that there was a threat out there that could do her harm.

Jenny nodded agreement. "Let Ziva and Kate talk to her. She knows and trusts Ziva, and she must sense she can trust Kate to because she asked about her all the way here." She smiled a little and added, "She asked about Tony too. I think she feels bad for hitting him with a lamp."

Gibbs nodded. "Ok, she can talk to the girls, and tell her DiNozzo's fine. He has a hard head."

His easy acceptance surprised Jenny and it showed in the way she was looking at him. "Ok? Just like that?"

"She's been through hell." Gibbs said, his hands tightening on the railing to the point his knuckles were white. "For now I'll follow your lead."

"Thank you Jethro." Jenny said softly as she put her hand on top of his.

They looked at each other for several long moments before Jethro pulled his hand out from under hers and walked away. He felt the need to go downstairs and check to make sure Ari was still dead. It was the third time since he'd come in. Just as the elevator doors open Jenny called out to him, he turned.

"Would you ask Ducky to come up and check her out when he's finished with the autopsy?" Jenny asked softly. "I didn't want to scare her with a trip to the emergency room." He nodded that he would and then the doors closed. Jenny sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Not only did she have to help her daughter get through the trauma of being kidnapped, she had to help her through finding out about her father. How angry was Kennedy going to be with her? She wasn't sure she could handle having two Gibbses mad at her. The thought was kind of frightening. Turning back towards the bullpen below she called out, "Ziva, Kate, up here, now please."

Kennedy sat on the sofa in her mom's office with Ziva beside her and Kate in the chair next to her. She told them about what happened on her way out of the stables at school and about waking up in the room where Kate and Tony had found her. She told them about meeting Ari, and about Nassir, who made her nervous. She told them about knowing about the men with the guns, and how that scared her. The confusion she felt about Ari, about how charming and kind he'd been, played out over her face and in her eyes. Kate could relate to that feeling. He'd charmed her to once upon a time too. She told Kennedy that and it seemed to help the girl.

"Kennedy," Kate said gently. "Did you ever hear Ari talk about business or maybe mention someone he was working with?"

"No." Kennedy said with a shake of her head. "He said he wasn't doing it to hurt my Mom, he wanted to hurt Gibbs, he didn't even try to hide that. He said someone else wanted to get to Mom but he wouldn't say who."

Kate nodded and then asked, "Did you ever overhear him talking to one of his men or maybe to someone on the phone?"

She was about to shake her head no again but then didn't. An odd look came over Kennedy's face as she thought about Kate's question. Her eyes narrowed a little and her head titled a bit. This prompted Jenny to ask, "What is it, Kennedy?"

"He had more then one phone." Kennedy said. "Whenever the black bar phone rang he would leave the room. Once, he answered it as he was walking out of the room and he said a name."

"What was the name?" Ziva asked.

"René." Kennedy answered.

As soon as she heard the name Jenny's blood went cold and she had to leave the room.

Her mother's sudden departure made Kennedy's eyes go wide. Did she do something wrong? Panic filled her slowly watering blue eyes as she looked between Kate and Ziva. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, akhot katana." Ziva reassured as she put her arm around Kennedy. "You did nothing wrong. Your mother needs to give that name to Gibbs so we can look for the person who helped take you away from us. Gibbs, and your mother, me, Kate, Tony, everyone, we're going to make sure you're safe. I promise."

Kennedy nodded. She trusted Ziva. When her mother would leave to go on a mission Ziva always promised her that she would keep her mom safe, and each and every time her mom always came home to her, safe and sound. In her eyes Ziva was better then any old super hero. They gave her a few minutes to calm down before probing a little more just to see what else Kennedy knew without knowing she knew it.

Jenny's heart was pounding so hard she felt dizzy as she gripped the railing as hard as Jertho had that morning. There was only one René she knew of that could have done something like this. La Grenouille. Jenny forced herself to take several deep breaths before looking up and yelling down into the bullpen, "DiNozzo!"

She and Tony were just finishing up a heated, whispered conversation when the elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal Ducky. He smiled warmly at her, giving her a gentle hug. "I hear we have a very special guest with us today."

"She's in my office." Jenny said, a warm smile of her own now gracing her lips. "You don't mind looking her over?"

"Of course not my dear." Ducky said as he offered his arm to her like a gentleman. "I have been looking forward to meeting her."

When they walked in Kennedy was laughing. It was the most beautiful sound in the world to Jenny. It took a lot off her shoulders to see her little girl smiling, laughing, just like the last time they were together. Children are strong, she reminded herself, they're resultant. "And what exactly is so funny?"

Kennedy giggled. "Agent DiNozzo."

"And what about Special Agent DiNozzo is so funny?" Jenny asked, a smirk firmly in place.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for him to meet Francis." Kennedy giggled.

"Who is Francis?" Ducky asked.

Jenny made a face. Bringing Kennedy's things home meant bring Francis home. "Her lizard."

"He's a bearded dragon." Kennedy clarified. "Kate was telling me about Agent DiNozzo freaking out over a lizard in Cuba."

Of course Kate had left out the fact that Tony was totally naked, at least when she told Kennedy, she'd left the bit in for Ziva when she'd told her about it.

Normal ten-year-old girls go all girly over kittens and puppies; her daughter ten-year-old daughter went all girly over a lizard. Jenny wondered if she could blame this on Jethro some how? "Kennedy, this is Doctor Donald Mallard."

"But you my dear may call me Ducky." Ducky said as he smiled at Kennedy who smiled back at him with Jenny's smile. "It is a honor to meet you."

"You're Mom's friend." Kennedy said brightly. "She's told me about you."

"Has she now?" Ducky asked as he replaced Ziva on the sofa beside Kennedy.

The girl nodded. "You use to work together."

"Indeed we did my dear." Ducky replied. He then launched into a long and detailed account of how he and Jenny first met while opening his medical bag and pulled out his stethoscope. Physically she appeared just fine; emotionally he knew she would have some healing to do.

She liked him instantly. Ducky was funny and full of stories and Kennedy thought he was great. Her mom had told her about him, mentioning him over the years, and it was easy to see way she was so fond of him. He was a kind and caring man and that came through as clearly as a full moon on a cloudless night. Kennedy knew what he was doing; she knew he was checking her over to make sure she hadn't been hurt. If this meant she didn't have to go to the hospital to get checked out she was fine with it.

While Ducky was with Kennedy Jenny was having another whispered conversation with her agents. They had his name; there wouldn't be any way for Jenny to keep this hidden any longer. Up to this point she'd had Tony working with her on brining down the known arms dealer, but now that he'd involved her daughter in their conflict, she had no problem with bringing down the full force of her agency to take him out.

"She's fine, Jennifer." Ducky said when he joined the ladies. "She's just going to need time to heal in other ways."

"Thank you, Ducky." Jenny said with a grateful smile.

She didn't want to overwhelm Kennedy so now that she'd been debriefed Jenny had every intention of taking her home. She had her daughter's hand firmly in her own as they started down the stairs. When she felt Kennedy's hand tighten around hers she looked over and noticed that Kennedy was staring at Gibbs who was sitting at his desk. Stopping on the landing she crouched down to look into her daughter's eyes. "This isn't his fault, Kennedy. Ari was a man with problems. He targeted Gibbs for reasons that are really to complicated to explain. But none of this is his fault."

Before Kennedy could say anything Cynthia was at the railing. "Director." She called down to Jenny. The way she'd come out of the office had caused Gibbs to get out of his seat and make his way up the stairs to Jenny. "The SecNav, the Director of the FBI, and the Assistant Director of Mossad are all waiting to speak with you in MTAC."

Jenny stood up and sighed as she looked at Gibbs. She dropped her voice so only he could hear her. "They want to know why Ari Haswari is dead."

"I'll talk to them." Gibbs offered.

"No, I don't think so." Jenny replied with a firm shake of her head. "You'll just make things worse."

Gibbs had to smirk because she was right.

Looking down at Kennedy Jenny bit the inside of her cheek before taking a huge step she didn't think she'd be taking just yet. She hadn't wanted to force Kennedy when it came to emotions just yet, but then again what good would it do to drag things out? "Kennedy, I have something I have to handle before we leave. I want you to stay with Gibbs."

Kennedy's eyes shot to the man beside her mother before retuning to glare at the older redhead. "Mom!"

"Don't argue with Kennedy." Jenny warned. "I don't know how long this is going to take. I want you to stay with Gibbs, and I want you to be nice."

"Yes ma'am." Kennedy grumbled while shooting her mother the same annoyed look Gibbs gave her.

Jenny and Gibbs shared a long look before she headed back up the stairs, disappearing into MTAC for a long unpleasant talk with her peers. As soon as the door clicked closed behind her Gibbs' gaze dropped to the girl standing in front of him on the landing. Father and daughter just stood there staring at each other for several long moments. Finally Gibbs said, "Come on."

Kennedy blinked when Gibbs finally broke eye contact. She followed after him as he made his way down the stairs. "Where are we going?"

"Coffee." Gibbs replied.

"I'm ten." Kennedy said. "I don't drink coffee."

"I do." Gibbs said as they walked pass his gawking agents and over to the elevator. "And I'm out."

At first they walked in silence as they made their way to Gibbs' coffee shop. Kennedy stuck close to the silver haired man, glancing up at him from time to time. There was something about him, something she couldn't put her finger on. It was obvious her mother trusted him, that she liked him, that they were friends. She had seen it last night while Gibbs was with them at the house. There was just something about the way they looked at each other. "You've known my Mom a long time haven't you?"

"Yeah." Gibbs said as they walked.

"You trust each other?" She asked as she looked up at him.

Despite how he felt he didn't hesitate. He knew she was asking because if she knew her mother trusted him, she would be able to trust him too. "Yes."

Kennedy looked into his eyes when Gibbs turned his head to look at her. Several seconds passed and just before they reached the door of the coffee shop she gave a little nod. "Ok."

"Did I miss her?" Abby asked as she bounced into the desk space belonging to Gibbs' team. "Is she still here?"

"She's with Gibbs." Kate said from her desk. "The Director was called into a conference."

"Does she know who he is?" Abby asked.

Ziva shook her head. "No, so don't say anything."

Abby nodded. She understood that something like that needed to be handled with love and understanding, with tenderness and care. When the elevator dinged Abby turned to see who was getting off. A bright smile lit up her face when Gibbs and Kennedy stepped off together, each with a paper cup in their right hands. Up close and in person Abby saw it right away, the little things about the girl that she got from Gibbs, and for a flicker of a second she was jealous.

"Oh wow!" Kennedy suddenly squealed. "Is that a Sweet 1600 Draculaura?"

And just like that any jealously Abby might have felt towards the girl melted away. She smiled as she nodded, holding the doll out to the girl. "It sure is. I hoped you'd like it."

Kennedy's eyes went huge. "It's for me?"

Gibbs was smirking. "Kennedy, this is Abby."

Abby was beaming as she nodded. "Yeap, the doll is for you. I went out to get it as soon as I heard that Gibbs had…" She stopped herself before she blurted it out. "As soon as Gibbs had figured out who you were. Your Mom is totally cool and being kidnapped totally sucks, so I thought it would be nice, ya know, to get a cool present."

"Thank you." Kennedy said as she admired the new doll. "I love these! My Mom got me a Celo De Nile for Christmas last year."

Gibbs smirked as he walked over to his desk. He watched as Abby and Kennedy talked, his girls hitting it off like he knew they would. Abby crouched down when Kennedy asked to look at her neck tattoo, as he watched her fingers gently dance over Abby's skin he couldn't help but think of all the things he'd missed out on. With Kennedy safely home it gave Gibbs the freedom to really take in his emotions. It wasn't just about what Jenny had done either. Watching Kennedy, he couldn't help but think of Kelly. Kennedy was only a few years older then Kelly was when she was killed, so close in fact that it almost felt as if he could pick up where he'd left off. Of course that wouldn't be fair to either of his daughters, not to Kelly and her memory, or to Kennedy and her life. He had to build something between himself and Kennedy that was special to them. That of course meant they had to tell Kennedy he was her father. He and Jenny really needed to talk about that.

All the aggravation she felt after her conference call melted away as Jenny watched from her railing as Jethro showed Kennedy how to make a bologna and potato chip sandwich at his desk. Kennedy was being cautious about him, she could see that though anyone who didn't know Kennedy might miss it. But Jenny didn't see the same tension she'd seen that morning, and that was a good sign. Having Kennedy angry with Gibbs wasn't going to make telling her the truth any easier. It was going to be hard enough telling her the truth. She just hoped that when all was said and done, she didn't have both of the people she loved most in the world mad as hell at her.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a solid knock on the front door that made Jenny look up from the file she was reading. Who would be coming to her home this late? Slipping off her glasses she made her way out of her study and down the short hall to the front door. Peeking out the window she was surprised to see Jethro standing on her doorstep. They'd spoken briefly before she and Kennedy left the office, but hadn't been able to go into detail because someone found a dead marine in the back of a tracker trailer. Since leaving with his team most of Gibbs' updates were work related, though he did slip in a how she doing, one or twice, in between the texts and calls she was getting from Ziva and Ducky.

"I know your there, Jen." Jethro said through the door. "Open the damn door already."

There was a smirk on Jenny's face as she pulled the heavy wooden door open. "Good evening Jethro." He just gave her a look that made her bite the inside of her cheek to keep from chuckling. "Come in."

Jethro stepped inside, closing the door behind him. This was the first chance he had since getting the new case to step away. They'd gotten what they could from the scene; his team was working on their assignments, so he slipped out because he really needed to talk to Jenny. "Kennedy?"

"Sleeping." Jenny answered as she led Jethro into her study. "She had nightmares last night so her sleep wasn't very restful. Not to mention she's still on London time."

"Yeah, that's part of what we need to talk about." Jethro said as he watched her pour bourbon into two tumblers. "She's not going back to that school, Jen. She's just a little girl. She should have been here with you. She's going to be here with us."

Jenny just let Jethro rant about not sending Kennedy back to boarding school before holding out his drink to him. "Are you finished?"

"I've been thinking a lot about this, Jen." Jethro said as he took the drink. "She's my kid. I want the chance to get to know my damn kid."

"I'm glad to hear that, Jethro." Jenny said softly. "I want her to get to know you too. That's one of the reasons why I pulled her out of Roedean this morning. You're right. She should have been here with me. I didn't realize how badly I missed her, how much I ached not having her around, until I had her in my arms last night." She sighed as she moved across the room. "Just add it to the list of my offences."

Jethro shook his head. "I'm not ready to offer any sympathy, Jen. I'm still really pissed at you."

"You have every right…" Jenny started.

"Damn right I have every right!" Jethro said, his voice raising. "You walked away from us, that was between us, but you took her with you!"

They made comments. Do you remember that little place in London we use to go to? What are you thinking about? Paris. What was the color of the sunrise from the window of that little countryside barn? They never really talked about it, about their affair, about how much they loved each other. Jenny saw the flicker, the hurt, the longing, and it made her take a step closer to him.

"Don't." He warned her. "This isn't about us. This is about her."

Jenny hesitated, but then nodded and backed up.

"I keep thinking about everything I've missed." Jethro continued. "The milestones, the events, her first word, her first step, her first birthday, her first day of school. I'm not going to let it happen again Jen. I'm not going to let anyone keep me out of her life, not even you."

Jenny titled her head a little. What had he meant by again? If things weren't so rocky between them right now she might have asked. "I'm not going to keep you out of her life, Jethro. I'm going to tell her."

"When?" He asked.

"Tomorrow." Jenny promised. She just wished she knew how she was going to tell Kennedy. To be honest she was kind of worried because she couldn't predict her daughter's reaction. Kennedy hadn't really been overly curious about her father, at least not with Jenny, but a part of her had to want to know, right?

"When should I be here?" Jethro asked.

Jenny thought about it and said, "I'll call you. We're both going to need to let her take this in and react to it how she's going to react to it. We can't push her, Jethro. She's too much like the both of us to ever push her. She'll just push back."

He wasn't happy about this, but he had to accept that Jenny knew Kennedy better then he did right now, and he needed to trust her. It was just really hard to do that right now. Finally after what felt like forever he nodded.

Jenny nodded, acknowledging his consent. There was a moment of silence between them before Jenny said, "She said Mama for the first time while I was settling her into an airplane seat. She took her first steps in our apartment in Berlin but she kept getting distracted and falling over because she was squishing the carpet between her toes. We spent her first birthday in a beach house in Malibu. She loved the water but hated having sand on her skin. We lived in London when she started school. She got up super early, got herself dressed in her little skirt and sweater, made a huge mess in the kitchen trying to get her own cereal. She was so excited." She smiled fondly her eyes brightening at the memory. "She was fine when I dropped her off. She kissed my cheek and then ran off to introduce herself to her classmates. I cried most of the day."

Jethro took it all in, picturing it in his mind, and then sadly said, "Those are your memories, Jen, not mind. I missed those moments."

"I keep breaking rule number six." Jenny said softly, a sad but playful smile on her face. The smile faded. "I'm sorry, Jethro. I'll spend the rest of our lives telling you I'm sorry, but I can't undo what's done. What I can do is promise you won't miss out on any more memories. I can promise you'll be part of those moments from now on."

He stood there looking at her. Jethro could read her like no one else could, and he knew that went both ways. He could see her remorse, he knew she was truly sorry, but he wasn't finished being angry and hurt. It would take time and effort to move past this, but for their daughter's sake they would have to deal with their issues separately. What mattered more was learning to work as a team, as parents, for Kennedy.

"We'll figure this out, Jethro." Jenny said softly.

Jethro stayed a little longer. He even went upstairs to peek in on his little girl as she slept. It made him smile to see the doll Abby gave her tucked under Kennedy's arm. He looked around her room, trying to get a scene of who she was, but Jenny had said she'd done it up while Kennedy was away. So how much of the room was Kennedy and how much was Jenny interrupting Kennedy? When he left Jen's house he went back to the office to check in on the case. He didn't get home himself until the next morning. Standing in his living room Jethro realized that this wasn't just his home anymore; he needed to make it a home for Kennedy too. That wasn't going to be easy. The old house really hadn't been a home since he lost his family. He slept on the couch in the living room, ate in the kitchen, used the bathroom, but mostly if he was here he was in his basement.

Moving to his stairs Jethro looked up from the bottom. He couldn't quite make himself go up just yet, but he knew he would have too. Just not right now. Right now he needed to head to the lumberyard.

Jenny had another nearly sleepless night. She checked on Kennedy before going to bed, and then got up repeatedly to check on her again and again throughout the night. She finally fell into dreamless sleep around dawn. It was going to take time to get Kennedy settled, to get her into school, to get child care set up, so Jenny took her to the office with her again. Kennedy didn't seem to mind. She liked getting to know some of her mom's agents, and she liked being with Ziva. Abby was so much fun, and she spent lunch with Ducky and Mister Palmer. With another new day, another day away from what had happened, a little more of Kennedy shown through. It was a relief to Jenny, though she was still thinking it might be a good idea to check in with a professional, to see Kennedy happy and smiling.

It was later that evening while sitting on the sofa in the living room that Jenny finally decided she couldn't put things off anymore. The sooner she explained things to Kennedy the sooner they could deal with them and move on. "Kennedy, sweetie, we need to talk about some things."

"I don't remember anything more." Kennedy said, her body stiffening a little at the thought of having to talk more about what happened.

Jenny put her arm around her little girl and drew her closer. "I know baby. I didn't mean we needed to talk about that. We need to talk about how things are going to change now."

Bright blue eyes shifted to look at her mom as Kennedy relaxed a little. "What kinds of things?"

"Well, for starters, you're not going back to Roedean." Jenny said, her tone gentle but firm, letting Kennedy know there was no discussion the choice was made.

Kennedy looked disappointed, she really did like her school, but she also looked relieved, and happy. "I get to stay home with you?"

The hopeful look in her daughter's eyes was like a knife in her heart, and yet it feel wonderful to know her little girl wanted to be with her. Jenny nodded. "You're staying home with me. I want you here, Kennedy, with me. I want you home where you belong."

"Ok." Kennedy said, trying hard not to smile.

The way Kennedy said ok reminded Jenny of Jethro. She bit her lip, giving herself a moment, and then said, "There's another reason I want you here, baby, an important reason."

Kennedy raised a questioning eyebrow. "What?"

"There's somewhere here I want you to get to know." Jenny said carefully.

"Who?" Kennedy asked.

Jenny took a breath and then said, "You're father."

There was a long pause. Kennedy just sat there looking at her mother for a long time before finally saying, "Oh."

Jenny caressed Kennedy's cheek before taking her hand in her own. "I know you haven't really mentioned him…"

"Because it makes you sad." Kennedy cut in.

"What?" Jenny said, surprised.

Kennedy bit her lip the exact same way her mother had just moments before. "When I've asked about him before it made you sad, so I don't ask cause I don't like to see you sad."

Jenny wrapped her arms around her little girl and hugged her tight. "It's not that thinking about him makes me sad. My time with him was very special, a very happy time in my life, and your father, he's a good and wonderful man. We were very close, and I loved him very much, and I missed him."

"Because he left us." Kennedy said softly.

"No, Kennedy, no." Jenny said with a shake of her head. She took her daughter's face in her hand and looked her in the eyes. "Honey, your father, he didn't leave us." She paused, pulling in her courage. "I never told him, Kennedy. I never told him he was going to be dad, he didn't know. If he had he would have been there for you."

"For you too?" Kennedy asked, after giving that a little thought.

"For me too." Jenny admitted. "You are the best thing I've ever done, Kennedy, you're the best thing about my life, but I made the wrong choices for you, for us, when it comes to your father. I took time away from you, time you two should have together, and for that I'm so sorry."

Kennedy wasn't sure what to say. She'd thought about her dad, of course she had, but her mom had always been enough. She knew her mother loved her and even though they weren't always together, they were close. What would it be like to have a dad? What would it be like to do all the things she'd seen other kids doing with their dads?

"Kennedy?" Jenny asked softly. She'd been quiet for several long moments and it was making Jenny nervous. "Baby, talk to me, please?"

"Who is he?" Kennedy asked.

Jenny swallowed the lump in her throat as she said, "Jethro."

Kennedy's eyes went wide. "Gibbs?"

Jenny nodded and Kennedy went quiet again. Jenny let Kennedy take it all in. She held her little girl and just let her think it through. She didn't want to push but after awhile she needed to know what Kennedy was thinking. "Talk to me, Kennedy."

"That explains the way he looks at you." Kennedy said softly.

"And how does he look at me?" Jenny asked.

"Like he isn't sure if he wants to hug you or hit you." Kennedy answered.

She couldn't help it, Jenny laughed. "I tend to bring that out in him."

Kennedy waited until her mom was done laughing before asking, "Is he mad at you?"

"Yes." Jenny answered honestly. "But we'll work it out, and what's going on between Jethro and me, that has nothing to do with Jethro and you."

"Does he want to be my dad?" Kennedy asked next.

Jenny nodded as she looked into her daughter's eyes. "Yes baby, he really wants to be your dad. He is your dad."

Fresh lumber cluttered his basement. A long sheet of paper was laid out on his workbench, the tip of his pencil gliding along the edge of his ruler. When he was finished he stuck the pencil in his mouth as he checked and double-checked his measurements. When his cell rang he had to fish it out of a jar of wood nails and with his pencil still in his mouth he mumbled, "Yeah, Gibbs." He listened, taking the pencil out of his mouth to make an adjustment on the paper. "I'll be right there."

Jenny pulled open the heavy wooden door and smiled as Jethro walked into her home. "She's in the living room."

Jethro nodded, and even gave her a small smile before making his way past her. The almost unshakeable Leroy Jethro Gibbs was actually feeling a little unsure and nervous as he walked into the room. Kennedy was sitting on the sofa and looked up when he walked in. Their gazes met and for several minutes they just looked at each other.

"Mom says you like Chinese." Kennedy said softly as she pointed out the array of Chinese take out containers on the coffee table. "I think the smelly one is yours."

Jethro looked over at Jenny who was smirking at him. She gave him a small nod and he smiled back. Walking over to the sofa he sat down next Kennedy and reached for the carton that was meant for him.

Kennedy reached for the sweet and sour chicken and a pair of chop sticks. She opened the flaps of the box and got her chopsticks ready, then said, "Mom says you're my Dad."

"Yeap." Jethro said as he prepared his own chopsticks. "I am."

Kennedy nodded. "I'm not calling you dad." She warned him. "I don't know you."

Jethro nodded. "We can take out time."

"Good." Kennedy replied.

"Doesn't mean I'm not though." Jethro warned. "Because I am."

"Ok." Kennedy replied and then shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth.

And that was that. No big drawn out conversation or barrage of questions, just the simple understanding that he was her father, they both knew, and they'd go on from there. Jenny sighed softly and relaxed. Then she joined them for dinner, grabbing her own carton. One more hurtle down, and on to the next. She'd been a single parent for Kennedy's whole life, now she would have to learn now to be a parent with Gibbs. This was about to get interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

Legally acknowledging that Jethro was Kennedy's father was their first real step to sorting their daughter's life out. Jenny was still her primary legal guardian, but now Jethro's name was on her birth certificate like it always should have been. Kennedy's last name would remain Shepard, they decided to wait, to let things progress between her and Jethro, and then add Gibbs later if that's what Kennedy wanted. Names didn't matter to Gibbs right now, what mattered was getting to know his daughter, spending time with her, so Jethro was good with how things were working out. They started out slow. He would come over to Jenny's, they'd have dinner and watch a movie, or he'd take them both out to eat. He listened carefully when Kennedy talked. She liked horses and American Girl dolls, her favorite cartoon was Avatar The Last Airbender, but she hated the movie because it was really bad. She liked building the big complicated lego sets and worried that her Hogwarts castle was going to get trashed in transit from her dorm room in England to her home in D.C.

Her favorite subject in school was science and she thought maybe she would be a vet when she grew up. She loved to read, and draw. Jethro had no idea what she was talking when she started talking about music, but listened anyway. She asked him questions, wanting to know about him and he answered as best as he could. There would be some questions, some things about him and his past, that he knew would be hard to answer, but he'd worry about that when it happened. He went with Jenny to check out Kennedy's new school, a private academy that specialized in educating the children of high profile parents in the political, military, and international areas common in D.C. and the surrounding regions. Jenny was trying to include Jethro and he appreciated that, even though things between them were still strained. Finding out what she was up to at work didn't help matters, but he tried not to let that seep into their personal life. It wasn't easy, one was always bleeding into the other, and they just had to face that it most likely always would.

Slowly Jenny began letting Kennedy and Jethro do things without her. Saturday and Sunday afternoons were spent doing this or that out on their own, and soon enough that led planning Jethro's first full weekend with their daughter. Thursday evening Kennedy packed a weekend's worth of stuff, which Jenny took to work with her on Friday. The school transport dropped Kennedy off at the Naval yard after school, which thrilled the girl. Kennedy loved going into the NCIS office. All of the agents on her dad's team had taken to her quickly, and loved hanging out with them. She loved it when she, Ziva and Kate would team up to pick on Tony. Timmy was the best at playing video games with her. She hung on every word of one of Ducky's stories. And Abby was just plain awesome.

Since her mom wasn't working on anything of the sensitive nature Kennedy got to hang out in her office while doing her homework. She wanted to get it out of the way so she could focus on just hanging out with her dad over the weekend. Glancing up from her paperwork Jenny smiled softly at the scene. Kenney was at the conference table with her homework, but most of her stuff had found it's way throughout Jenny's office. As soon as the ten year old had walked into the room she shrugged off her uniform jacket and threw it on the couch. Her tie was soon to follow, and though it was tossed towards the couch, it ended up on the coffee table. Her black Oxfords were kicked off under the conference table. There were books and notebooks scattered all over the place. Jenny just shook her head, still smiling, and then went back to her own work.

"Finished." Kennedy announced, bouncing to her feet and heading for the door.

"Freeze." Jenny called out as she slid her reading glasses off. She looked up at her daughter with a look that asked where she thought she was going. Kenney sighed as she came away from the door. "Clean up your mess while I check over your homework."

"Mom." Kennedy whined but walked over to get what she'd been working on. "Abby…"

"Is working." Jenny pointed out as she took the notebook and worksheet pages.

While her mom was making sure her homework was ok Kennedy shoved things into her backpack, put it at the corner of the couch, placed her blazer over the arm, made sure her tie was in her blazer pocket and put her shoes back on. By the time she made it back to her mom's desk she had a really hopeful look on her face that made Jenny chuckle as she handed the homework assignments back. "Don't bother them if they're working on something, Kennedy."

"I won't." Kennedy promised. She put her homework in her backpack and then left the office with a wave to her mom and then to Cynthia. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Tony, helping him mess with Nikki Jardine, the analyst who was helping with their current case.

"You two are so bad." Kate said with a shake of her head as she watched Tony place an open chocolate bar under the desk lamp on the desk Jardine was using, while Kennedy hide the wet wipes the woman was using on everything.

"Hey." McGee said as he looked up from his own desk drawer. "That was my chocolate bar!"

At the end of the day Jenny stood with Kennedy at the elevator while they waited on Jethro. She was having some really mixed feelings about this. Since the kidnapping Kennedy hadn't be away from Jenny for more then the hours she was in school, or when Jenny was at work. She'd even pulled out of some social functions she should have attended because she wanted to be with her daughter. The only reason she was ok with this is because Kennedy would be with Jethro, and being with him was the only other safe place there was for her. "If you need me call me."

"I'll be fine Mom." Kennedy said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm spending the weekend with Gibbs. It's not like your leaving me with DiNozzo."

"Yeah, that will never happen." Jenny said while giving her daughter a look. "You owe Agent McGee a candy bar, and Agent Jardine an apology."

Bright blue eyes went wide when Kennedy realized her mother knew what happened. "It was all DiNozzo's idea!"

"I have no doubt about that." Jenny said, still giving Kennedy a soft motherly glare. "But you know better."

Kennedy tried not to smirk while she blushed over being caught. "I'm sorry."

"Don't tell me." Jenny replied. "Tell Agent Jardine the next time you see her."

"Ok." Kennedy replied just as Gibbs was walking towards them.

Jenny chuckled. She kissed Kennedy's on top of the head, and handed over her duffle bag to Jethro. "Have a good weekend. I'll see you on Sunday."

Gibbs put his hand on Kennedy's shoulder as he shared a look with Jenny that reassured her everything would be fine. After one more hug Jenny watched as Jethro and Kennedy stepped onto the elevator. She waited until the doors closed and she could hear the hum of the car descending before turning and heading for the stairs, and then her office. She planned on working late since she didn't have Kennedy to go home too.

When they got to his place Gibbs grabbed Kennedy's things out of the backseat and carried them inside, dropping them at the bottom of the stairs while he showed her around. As they made their way through the newly stocked kitchen to the living room he couldn't help but smirk at the look on Kennedy's face. "What?"

"Where's your t.v?" Kennedy asked.

Gibbs couldn't help but smirk as he crooked a finger, telling her to follow him. He led her down into the basement, flicking the light on before descending the stairs with her right behind him.

Kennedy's question about his t.v. was momentarily forgotten when she saw the unfinished boat in the middle of the room. "You really do have a boat in your basement."

"Yeap." Gibbs said as he pointed out the small black and white t.v. up on its shelf, and then laughed at the look on his daughter's face when she realized what it was. He'd expected her to say something smart, the way her mother would have, but instead she turned back to the boat. He watched as she walked around it, carefully touching the wood as she took it all in.

After several minutes Kennedy finally turned to look at her dad. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah?" He replied, waiting for the same question everyone asked. How was he getting the boat out of his basement?

"Can you teach me how to do this?" Kennedy asked.

He was surprised, though it didn't show. He hadn't expected her to take an interest. "You want to learn how to build a boat?"

"Eventually." Kennedy said as she made her way around the boat. "I think it would be cool to try making something."

He couldn't hide his smile if he wanted too. "If you want to learn, sure I'll show you."

Kennedy beamed at him. Then she pointed to the ancient t.v.. "You can't be serious about that."

"Why can't I?" He asked as they made their way back upstairs.

"It's so old I bet it doesn't even have cable." Kennedy said as she followed her dad through the house to the stairs that lead to the second floor. "How do you get your news without a proper t.v.?"

"There's this thing that appears on my doorstep every morning called a newspaper." Gibbs replied with a teasing tone.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she really needed to convince her dad they needed a t.v. and cable, and internet access. Until then she'd have to make do with digital downloads on her tablet. When they got upstairs all thoughts of dragging her father into modern day fizzled.

"This is your room." Gibbs told her as he opened the door with a handmade name plaque on it.

Kennedy stepped into the room and her eyes went wide. The walls were freshly painted in her favorite shade of green, there were a couple of posters hanging up of things she'd told him she liked, and the bedding was green with hearts and strips, and she thought it was really pretty. But what got Kennedy's full attention was the bed its self because it was pretty clear even to her that it had been hand made. She walked over to the bookshelf style headboard and ran her fingers over the polished wood and the carved design of dragonflies and swirling reeds. There was a matching nightstand beside the bed and dresser against the far wall. After taking it all in she turned to look at Gibbs. "Did you make this?" He nodded. "For me?" He nodded again. Kennedy smiled as she looked it all over again and then went over and hugged her dad. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Gibbs said softly as he hugged her back. When she pulled away he looked down at her and said, "Why don't you get settled in and I'll start dinner."

"Ok." Kennedy replied with a soft beaming smile.

After their dinner of grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and grilled veggies Gibbs and his daughter spent some time in the basement where he showed her how cover and smooth out the holes left by nails and screws. Then they crashed on the sofa and watched a couple of episodes of Last Airbender on Kennedy's tablet before he sent her up to get ready for bed. It took him aback when he walked into the room to find her snuggled under her covers, Bert Jr. tucked under her arm. When Abby heard that Kennedy had rejected her little stuffed rabbit following the kidnapping, she'd gone out and gotten her a smaller version of her own plush friend, which Kennedy quickly named Bert Jr.

What took Gibbs by surprise was the sudden rush of emotion and memory. He flashed back on tucking Kelly in, on the sound of her voice, her laugh, the sleepy gleam in her eyes when she said goodnight daddy. He never thought he'd be doing this again, and yet here he stood taking in the fan of red hair on a pillow and little wiggle of a child getting comfortable. "You ok?"

Kennedy nodded. "I'm ok."

He nodded as he walked over and placed a kiss at her temple. "Goodnight kid."

"Night Gibbs." Kennedy said with a soft yawn. He was just about to close her door when Kennedy said, "Gibbs?"

"Yeah?" He turned to look at her, meeting her soft gaze.

"Call and tell Mom to go home." She said softly. "She'll work all night if you don't."

Gibbs smirked. Apparently he wasn't the only one who knew Jenny well. "Ok, I will."

"Thanks." Kennedy said softly and then let herself drift off. It was nice to know someone else cared about her mom as much as she did.

"Working late my dear?" Ducky asked from the doorway of Jenny's office. "Or avoiding home?"

The redhead smiled softly at her old friend as she slipped her reading glasses off and sat back in her chair. "A little of both." She admitted. "Kennedy's with Gibbs for the first time this weekend."

"Yes I know." The old Scott said as he walked in and took the seat in front of Jenny's desk. "Jethro's been fretting about it a bit."

Jenny couldn't help but laugh. "I can't picture Jethro as the fretting type, Ducky."

"I have a feeling that we will see many sides of our dearest friend now that he's a father." Ducky said with a smile.

"He's been a father, Ducky." Jenny pointed out. "To Abby mostly, but to the others as well."

"This is very true." Ducky replied. "But Kennedy is his flesh and blood, she is his daughter, and most importantly his daughter with you."

"Ducky." Jenny warned when she saw that look in her friend's eyes.

Ducky simply smiled. "I know you Jennifer, I know Jethro, and I've known you together. You're good together, and I am not ashamed to say that I am hoping to see you together again."

"You're a romantic old fool Ducky." Jenny scolded lightly.

"Indeed I am my dear." Ducky replied. "Indeed I am."

It wasn't anything in particular that woke Kennedy up in the middle of the night. It was just the unfamiliar-ness of where she was and the subconscious knowledge that her mom wasn't close by. Creeping out of bed, Bert Jr. hugged tight to her chest; she padded out of her room and down the hall to the room Gibbs said was his. He wasn't in there, so she slowly made her way downstairs. Half way down the stairway she could see into the living room, she could see her dad sleeping on the sofa.

Gibbs heard movement upstairs. He was awake as he listened to Kennedy coming down the stairs and into the room. She was so much like her mother that he knew if he asked her what was wrong she would throw up a wall and say she was fine. He knew better, so he pretended to sleep and simply made room on the couch if she wanted it.

It was a struggle. If she were at home she wouldn't have an issue with climbing into bed with her mom, but her dad was different. They were just starting to get closer and he was tough, and strong, and she didn't want to seem weak around him. She lingered in the doorway for a bit, but in the end her instincts told her that he wouldn't think she was weak, that he'd understand her need for comfort, and because he was her dad he would want to offer that to her. So Kennedy walked over to the couch and carefully lay beside her dad. She relaxed the instant he put his arm around her, and she snuggled close.

The next morning Kennedy woke up alone on the couch to the smell of frying pork meat. Sitting up she reached for Bert Jr. who'd fallen to the floor at some point with one hand while the other rubbed sleep from her eyes. Getting up she made her way to the kitchen to find her dad making bacon, sausage and eggs. "Morning."

"Morning." Gibbs replied as he picked up a plate and put two sunny side up eggs on it before holding out it to his daughter.

After breakfast Kennedy went up to shower and get dressed. She wasn't upstairs more then five minutes when she yelled, "Gibbs!"

He went up stairs and replied though the door. "What's wrong?"

"All your shower stuff is guy stuff!" Kennedy replied from inside.

"So?" Gibbs replied, not catching on.

"I'm a girl!" Kennedy called back.

Oh. He hadn't even thought of that. He made sure to have the right kinds of foods, and picked up a few basic clothing items, a toothbrush, even some pink towels and such. But it hadn't dawned on him that a ten-year-old girl needed different bathroom products. "Just use it for now. We'll stop at the store while we're out today."

There was a little bit of mumbling and then Kennedy said, "Ok."

They spent the day together. Gibbs took Kennedy shopping so she'd have everything she needed at his house. Going to Target with a ten-year-old girl was a whole new experience for a man who normally went in got when he needed and got out. After picking up soap, shampoo, and other stuff like that Kennedy had drug him over to the clothes and asked him if like this shirt or that skirt. He felt a little overwhelmed, but he managed and as he carried the bags to the car he couldn't help feeling proud of himself for surviving. After having lunch they headed over to the lumberyard where he helped Kennedy pick out her first project.

Over all the weekend went well and when Gibbs dropped Kennedy off on Sunday she talked for an hour nonstop about what they did and about her bedroom. Jenny listened with a smile on her lips. She liked the way her daughter's eyes lit up when she talked about all the things she'd done with her dad and all the things her dad had done for her.

Unfortunately weekend number two with dad didn't go as well. Gibbs had decided to take Kennedy riding that Saturday and the girl was excited about it. She hadn't been riding since leaving school. But because of the manner in which she'd left when they got to the stables Kennedy started to freak out. She refused to go near the stables and when someone walked around the side, accidently startling her, she asked Gibbs to take her home.

"I want my Mom." Kennedy said, shaking her head at Gibbs when he said it was ok, that she was safe. "I want my Mom."

"Ok." Gibbs finally gave in. "Come on. I'll take you home."

When they got to Jenny's townhouse Gibbs used his key to open the front door and called out, "Jen?"

Jenny was surprised by the sound of Jethro's voice and then panic set in. She got up from the sofa in her living room and walked into the entry hall just in time to get tackled by her daughter. She wrapped her arms around Kennedy who had her face buried in her chest, and looked up to Jethro questioningly. As Jethro told her what happened her hold on Kennedy tightened. Just when they thought they were in clear when it came to what happened to her, something would suddenly crop up. It took awhile for Kennedy to relax but even then she wanted to stay home, so Gibbs stayed with her. They spent the rest of their weekend at Jenny's. Sunday turned out to be a lot better because Kennedy was starting to slowly realize she liked it when she was with both of her parents together.


	8. Chapter 8

It happened so naturally that no one would have known it was kind of a big deal, especially to the silver haired man with the huge smile on his face. They were sitting in their favorite Thai restaurant on a Sunday afternoon waiting on their food. Gibbs was picking on Kennedy, teasing her about the tapioca balls in her bubble tea. She was smiling, giggling, and rolling her eyes at him. Jenny sat beside their daughter smiling as she watched the playfulness between father and daughter, soaking in this newly discovered side of Jethro, this relaxed, easy going, happy man who'd been lost to long in the darkness of his past. Though Jenny was still unaware of why that darkness existed, she knew it was there and she could see Jethro stepping more and more into the light that his daughter brought to his life. She chuckled softly when Gibbs reached for the plastic cup and took a drink of Kennedy's tea, sucking up several of the dark gummy tapioca balls and then making a face at the oddness of their texture.

"Dad!" Kennedy said taking her cup back from him. "That's mine! I don't steal sips of your coffee! Mom's the only one who does that!" Jenny was only one allowed to do that.

Both of the adults at the table felt their breaths catch in their chests. Gibbs felt a rush of pride, a happy thud in his heart causing him to smile. She'd called him dad for the first time. He'd been waiting for it, waiting for that moment when she would finally feel safe and secure enough with him to make that final connection. It was worth the wait. That simple word said so purely was one the best sounds in the world.

"What?" Kennedy asked as she took in the way her parents were looking at her. "What are the goofy looks for?"

Jenny looked over at Jethro, catching his eye and sharing a smile before turning her attention back to Kennedy. "You called Jethro, Dad."

Kennedy blinked. It had been on her mind for a while, wanting to call him dad, but she'd been kind of scared to say anything. She knew that once she'd said it that was that, it was a sealed deal, no going back, not that they ever could. It made her a little nervous. Kennedy looked between her parents and then focused on her dad. "Is that ok?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah." He replied, still smiling, the tone of his voice betraying just how good he felt about this. "Of course it's ok, Kennedy. I am your dad. I'm proud to be your dad."

The smile on Kennedy's face lit up the room.

It hadn't been easy but they had worked things out so they were able, for the most part, to leave work at work and just be Kennedy's parents when they were with her. Moments like this, the three of them laughing and enjoying time together, were happening a lot more and both Jenny and Gibbs were happy about it. Jenny was getting a taste of the fantasy she'd harbored for years, and Gibbs was getting a second chance. They were a family.

They tried to hold on to that as things at work started heating up. The truth was that they'd been a family for a while. Abby hadn't just been kidding around when she'd said the kids don't like it when mom and dad fight, to the team Jenny and Gibbs were the parental figures. They were the ones the others looked up too, the ones they depended on for guidance and security. They came to them for comfort when things were hard. They laughed together, enjoyed spending time together. There were hugs, and smiles, and slaps to the back of the head when needed. They were a family.

As things with La Grenouille started to progress Jenny started to feel conflicted. For as long as she could remember she'd always done things on her own, her way, on her terms. It's how she managed to make it to the big chair. The one exception to her hardcore independence had been Gibbs. When they were partners she'd let him in little by little, growing more and more dependant on him both professionally and personally. It's part of the reason why she'd run. She'd held a death grip on her independence for so long that the thought of loosing any of it scared her. Slowly she was starting to realize that she couldn't keep pushing everyone away, that she couldn't do everything on her own. It had been a struggle for her to let Jethro into Kennedy's life as a parent, to share that responsibility with him, but she had and it made everything better. Now she was faced with doing that professionally, but she was having a hard time giving up her control. And Jenny knew why, she just didn't want to admit it.

He had known since Kennedy's kidnapping that there was something running deep between Jenny and René Benoit, he just couldn't put his finger on it. After the failed op in Canada Gibbs started looking into things a little more, but got distracted when he realized that Jenny was using his agents for something he wasn't aware of. He cornered her in the elevator but Jenny wasn't offering up any information on what she was doing. She just repeated the old argument about being allowed to do whatever she wanted with her agents. It was really starting to piss him off. Coming in from a crime scene where he'd been two people short, because DiNozzo and Kate were elsewhere on her orders, Gibbs decided enough was enough.

"What the hell are you playing at Jen?" Gibbs demanded as he walked into her office, slamming the door behind him.

Jenny looked up, an eyebrow raised. "Good morning Jethro. Someone switch your coffee with decaf this morning or did you just get up on the wrong side of the couch?"

Gibbs put his hands on her desk and leaned in towards her. "Where the hell are my people? Where's DiNozzo?"

"I'm not his keeper, Jethro." Jenny said easily. "Maybe he had a late night. Maybe he's hitting on the girl at the coffee shop. Maybe Ziva really did kill him with a paper clip."

"Who's he been talking to on that other phone?" Gibbs asked. He wasn't going to let her deflect his inquiry. He wanted to know what the hell was going on.

Jenny sat back in her chair as she kept her eyes locked on his. Her silence spoke volumes. He wasn't going to get anything out of her when it came to what she and Tony where working on.

"And Kate?" Gibbs asked, leaning a little closer.

"What about Agent Todd?" Jenny asked. Her eyes still locked with his. He'd trained her well; she could be just as stony as he could. She had taken what he'd taught her and fine toned it to fit into the political and bureaucratic world she thrived in.

He stared at her. He knew she was up to something, that she was holding stuff back from him, and he didn't like it one damn bit. "Jenny." He growled while slamming his hands on her desk.

"Jethro." She replied sweetly.

"Do you know what your problem is?" Gibbs asked her.

"I'm sure you're about to tell me." Jenny replied, keeping as cool as she could manage knowing that he was about to lay into her.

"You've been so focused on doing everything on your own that you've become self-centered, selfish, and unable to trust anyone." Gibbs said honestly. "You've turned your self-reliance and your self-determination into faults."

"And you're always more then happy to point out my faults aren't you, Jethro?" Jenny spat.

He growled softly in the back of his throat. "Why won't you trust me!?"

"I do trust you!" Jenny shouted back as she stood so they were a bit more even. "I trust you with my life, Jethro. I trust you with the most precious thing in the world to me; our daughter."

"Yeah it took you ten years and someone forcing your hand to do that." He replied.

Kennedy was a smart kid and it didn't take her long to figure out that if her parents were arguing at work, it was easier to get what she wanted at home. Of course her parents were smarter and caught on to what she was up too. Being banished to autopsy with Jimmy, instead of having what limited freedom she had around NCIS, was part of her punishment. Picking up another instrument in the sink of things she was washing she asked, "What do you use a ladle for?"

"Stomach contents." Jimmy answered.

Kennedy made a face. "So you what, scoop it out like soup?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Jimmy replied.

"I think I'm gonna hurl." Kennedy said while gagging.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Jimmy said, looking up from his studies. "You'll just have to clean it up."

Kennedy groaned. She looked up just in time to see Jimmy getting ready to say something else and shook her head. "Don't say it."

"Say what?" Jimmy asked.

"Whatever stupid grown up thing you were about to say because you think you should say it because you're a grown up." Kennedy said.

Jimmy blushed a little. "I wasn't."

"You were." Kennedy said as she put the ladle down to dry. "And I don't need another grown up harping on me, Jimmy, so just be Jimmy. Ok?"

The slightly awkward, team dubbed autopsy gremlin, smiled a crooked little grin. "Ok. You have a science test this week right?"

Kennedy nodded. "Animal and planet cells."

"Lets review while you wash." Jimmy said, still grinning.

They went over definitions first and then Jimmy pulled out the dry erase board once Kennedy was finished with her Gibbs ordered physical labor. Jimmy drew several diagrams of cells and she labeled them as they went. She also added a small definition under each picture. She giggled as she made a few adjustments to Jimmy's liver cell before saying, "Spongebob!"

"Funny." Jimmy said with a smirk as he erased what Kennedy had drawn and put back what she'd erased. "Did you know that the liver…"

"Is the only human organ capable of regeneration." Kennedy said with a smirk.

"How did you know that?" Jimmy asked.

Kennedy chuckled. "My Mom watches Grey's Anatomy."

"Really?" Jimmy asked with an odd look on his face.

Kennedy couldn't help but laugh. Jimmy had that look on his face that every kid gets when they come face to face with a teacher outside of school, that sudden realization that their real people outside the realm you're use to them in.

It took time and calling in favors but Kate was finally able to find what Jenny had sent her to look for. The information she had wasn't going to help matters. She had a bad feeling it could make matters worse. She debated taking the information to Gibbs first but she wasn't sure that would be any better. After sitting at her desk biting her thumb nail for about fifteen minutes Kate stood up, picked up the fold that she'd been staring at, and headed upstairs. When she walked into Jenny's office she was a bit surprised to find Gibbs there.

"It's alright Agent Todd." Jenny said reassuringly. Gibbs had been right, though it was hard for her to admit. She needed to let him in. Of course it had taken several more arguments and Gibbs calling her a hypocrite after finding out about her father's connection to René Benoit, before she finally agreed to let him help her. "He knows."

"What do you got Kate?" Gibbs asked.

Kate looked between the two before saying, "The reason he arranged Kennedy's kidnapping." She placed the folder on Jenny's desk, which the redhead pulled close and opened. "It was a diversion. While we were working to find Kennedy, La Grenouille was making the biggest acquisition of militarily grade weaponry since the end of the cold war."

"Damnit." Jenny said hotly as she looked through Kate's file. "I'd been hearing bits and pieces of chatter about this for the last two and half years. I could never figure out when or even if this was actually going to happen."

"He knew you knew enough to know what was happening." Gibbs said while looking over her shoulder after stealing her reading glasses. He moved her hand away so he could flip though the pages, leaning into her. His chest was pressed into her shoulder and without thinking Jenny leaned back against him. "What else Kate?"

Kate had been caught off guard by the closeness between the two, though she wasn't sure why. Everyone knew that Gibbs and Jenny were just that, Gibbs and Jenny. They were together, kind of, they should be together, but were fighting against it harder then anyone had ever seen before.

"Kate." Gibbs repeated.

Kate snapped out of it and said, "You're not going to like this."

"Of course not." Jenny said. "Out with it."

"I have confirmation that Trent Kort is La Grenouille CIA handler." Kate told them.

"Biggest arms dealer in the world is a company puppet." Gibbs said as he smacked Jenny's desk before standing upright.

"We knew that after Canada." Jenny pointed out. "But now we know who's pulling the strings." She looked at Kate and smiled. "Good work Agent Todd."

"Thank you Director." Kate said with a small but warm smile. Then she asked, "What's next?" Jenny gave her a questioning look. She glanced up at Gibbs who gave her a nod and then looked back to Jenny. It was simply but it said it all. "The team has your six, Director. Every last one of us."

They were a family. "Thank you Kate." Jenny said softly. "And once we know what the next move is, we'll let you know."

"We?" Gibbs asked with a smug smirk.

"Shut up Jethro." Jenny replied with an annoyed huff.


	9. Chapter 9

Since the kidnapping Kennedy just wasn't into horseback riding the way she'd been before it. So she was on an epic quest to find another activity that she liked, something that would allow her to compete because she had a bit of a natural competitive streak. Currently she was having a go at cricket. Going to boarding school in England and having Ducky as an uncle had led her to a fascination with the game. Her parents however didn't share that interest so it wasn't surprising to her when she'd look over towards the sitting area to find whoever was with her doing something other then watching her every movement. This time however, when Kennedy looked over she didn't see her mom working on her tablet or reading over some papers. She saw her talking to a bald man in a suit and dark glasses. The conversation wasn't pleasant, Kennedy could tell by her mom's body language. She wondered what was going on but knew better then to ask. This kind of thing happened more often then she'd like it to. Once they were having lunch in the park when they were suddenly joined by the Security of the Navy and his protection detail. Another time she was having ice cream with her dad and Agent Fornell showed up out of the blue. It was annoying, but she knew it was part of their jobs so she just shrugged it off as best she could.

A couple of days later when she saw the bald man with her dad outside of his favorite coffee shop, Kennedy started to worry. Like her mom, her dad's posture and stance gave off vibes that this man was a threat. It didn't help that as soon as they saw him both Kate and Ziva grabbed her by the shirt to stop Kennedy from walking, turned and all but drug her back to base. Of course no one would tell her anything. She didn't know what was going on but she knew something was happening.

"Kort doesn't like us looking into things." Gibbs said, his voice carrying from inside Jenny's study.

"Yeah, I got the same veiled warning." Jenny said with a frustrated sigh. "We back off for now. Let things settle. You should focus on that Turkish smuggling ring we got that tip on."

"And you?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny smiled sweetly. "It's the start of the political ass kissing season. I'll have plenty of dinners and balls to keep me busy. You're always welcome to dust off the dress blues and join me."

"Do you want to piss off everyone in D.C?" Gibbs said with a chuckle.

"I knew there was a reason I always asked Ducky." Jenny teased.

Her heart stopped as she listened to the voice on the phone. She could feel the unmoving blood in her veins begin to chill, causing her to shiver slightly. The air she'd just take in was trapped in her lungs, burning the soft tissue. The last time she felt like this Jenny had just found out that Kennedy had been kidnapped. This time the voice over the phone was telling her Gibbs had been caught in a bomb blast. She felt a warm hand on her arm, that warmth shocked her system back into action. Everything from that moment until she found herself standing at the nurses' desk was a blur. When the nurse, who in all honesty was just doing her job, started giving Jenny a hard time about going back to see him it was all Jenny could do not to pull the woman over the desk and pummel her.

"Only immediate family is allowed in the trauma room." The nurse repeated.

"That man is the father of my child!" Jenny argued.

"Are you married?" The nurse asked.

"No…"

"Then you can't go back." The Nurse cut in.

As if Jenny were going to allow this woman to stop her. With one quick phone call, and a rather smug look on her face, Jenny was walking towards Jethro's room. With each high heel clacking step she took Jenny said a prayer. He had to be all right, for Kennedy, for her, for their kids, he had to be all right. She'd seen him hurt before, knife wounds, guns wounds, his face black and blue and swollen from beatings, his knuckles torn and bloody from fights, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw walking into his room. It wasn't just that he was burned or that he was hooked up to machines, it was something else, there was something deeply wrong, Jenny just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Jethro." She said his name so softly, so tenderly; it really wasn't a surprise that the doctor mistook her for Mrs. Gibbs. It didn't help that she ignored everyone in the room as she walked over to him, slipping her fingers carefully around his hand. Jenny looked down at him, her heart aching, and then she closed her eyes and steadied herself before turning to speak with the doctor. Any other time she would have found it funny, the look on the doctor's face when she told him she wasn't Jethro's wife.

When Abby arrived Jenny turned her attention to her, easily and welcomingly turning to her maternal figure status to calm and comfort the younger woman. At one point she even held Abby's face in her hands as she told her so firmly Abby had to believe it, that Gibbs would be all right. After Gibbs was settled into a proper room in ICU Jenny turned to Abby after awhile and said, "You need to go home, Abby."

"I want to stay with Gibbs." Abby replied as she gently clung to his hand.

"I know." Jenny said, putting her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "But you need to go home and get some sleep. He won't be alone, I promise."

"But…"

"No buts Abigail." Jenny used the same tone she used on Kennedy and it worked. Abby didn't argue. "You need to be at your best tomorrow. We all need to pull together and figure this out. He's ours; Abby, and someone hurt him. We need to find out who."

The dark haired young woman thought that over and then nodded. Someone needed to pay for this. "Ok."

"I'll call Kate." Jenny said before dropping a kiss on top of Abby's head. "She'll come get you."

Kate came to get Abby and drove her home before heading back to NCIS to help with the investigation. Early the next morning when she went back to the hospital she found Jenny sleeping in a chair beside Gibbs' bed. Walking over she gently put a hand on Jenny's arm. "Director." She said softly, giving the arm a gentle shake. "Director."

Jenny moaned. She was getting to old to sleep in chairs like this. "This is a personal sitting, Kate. You can call me Jen or Jenny."

"But never Jennifer." Kate said with a warm smile, trying to get the older woman to smile too. She held out a cup of coffee to Jenny as she said, "Ziva told us though she never said why."

"The only people who ever called me Jennifer were my father and Ducky." Jenny explained as she sipped her coffee before getting up to stretch. She simply left it at that. "Anything new?"

Kate shook her head. "Abby said she'd be in by seven to have a look at the evidence. Tony, Ziva, and I spent the night interviewing people but we haven't gotten much. McGee's looking into financials, manifests, radio chatter, anything he can think of getting to electrically."

Jenny listened and then nodded. "Good. That's a good start."

"Anything new on your end?" Kate asked, as she looked at Gibbs lying there weak and broken in his hospital bed. Her heart ached. Gibbs shouldn't be like that. He was Gibbs.

"No, no change." Jenny said softly. "The doctor will be in later. I should be back by then. I need to go home and talk to Kennedy."

Kate nodded. "I'll stay with him. I promise."

After Jenny left the room Kate walked over and sat in the chair she'd found the redhead sleeping in. She just sat there for a few minutes staring at Gibbs. What was it? Almost five years ago now? He'd come barreling onto Air Force One with Tony and Ducky in tow, and in a few short hours had turned her life completely upside down. She'd never thanked him for that. "You have to wake up, Gibbs. You have to give me a chance to look you in the eyes and tell you thank you."

He'd been in and out consciousness until the dreams started and then he'd completely given himself over to them. He let himself sink deeper and deeper because they weren't just dreams, they were his memories. They were right there. He could see them, hear them, touch them, smell the sweetness of her shampoo and taste the coffee cream on her lips. Shannon and Kelly, his wife and daughter, his family. He'd relived every moment from start to end at least twice if not more. He was staring into Kelly's smile face, she was laughing and thanking him for something he'd gotten her, and then a flash, his memory changed, flash it changed back, flash it faded into something else, someone else.

A young woman in a suit staring up at him in a cramped stairway. A flash, his mind went back to Kelly, a flash, another memory of the young woman with dark hair and hazel eyes. Her voice ringing out, faded by time, "Is that a job offer?" Flash. Kate. Flash. Kate smiled at him from her desk. His memory is flooded with the sound of her laugh, the sound of her voice. He remembers finding her asleep on the floor behind her desk and tucking the blanket around her shoulders. He remembered how it felt to wrap his arms around her in a hug.

"She sleeps with a gun, Boss."

"Do you?"

"No, yes, well, under my pillow."

"Good girl."

Then the memories change. He remembers the way she looked after that bomb went off in the office building. The way she sounded trapped in autopsy with Ari. He remembered the warmth of her blood after Ari had shot her, and how pale and weak she'd looked lying in the hospital bed after. That's when the memories of Shannon and Kelly came back.

When Jenny got home Kennedy was still asleep so she used that time to get a shower and change out of the red evening gown she'd been in all night. As the hot water beat down on her she tried to think of how she was going to tell their little girl that her dad was hurt. She could barely wrap her own mind around just how bad Jethro was.

When Kenny walked into the dinning room for breakfast she found her mom sitting there staring off into space. "Was the dinner that bad?" She asked, but Jenny didn't respond. "Mom? Earth to Mom!"

"Hmm?" Jenny said as she shook off her thoughts. "Oh, honey, sorry. No, the dinner wasn't to bad." She paused as she watched Kennedy down half of her juice. "Sweetheart, we need to talk."

There was something in her mom's voice that made Kennedy's heart skip. "What happened?"

"There was an accident." Jenny said softly and then began to explain what happened to Jethro. By the time she was finished she had Kennedy trying to pull her out of her seat to take her to the hospital. "He's in ICU Kennedy. I'll have to check with his doctor before I can take you to see him."

"But he's my dad!" Kennedy protested. "I have every right to see him!"

"You're only ten…"

"I'll be eleven in a few weeks!" Kennedy cut in.

Jenny's heart was breaking. "Kennedy."

Huge tears were welling in Kennedy's eyes. She protested for a few more moments and then just collapsed into her mother's arms. "He's going to be ok isn't he? I mean he's Gibbs. He's going to be ok. Right Mom?"

She didn't want lie and she didn't want to tell Kennedy that she wasn't sure, so Jenny didn't reply, she just held her little girl in her arms. It wasn't easy to get Kennedy off to school, but she managed, and then she headed back to the hospital. She sent Kate home to sleep for a few hours, making it an order, and then spoke with Jethro's doctor. When he asked about an old trauma she only knew of one person who might be able to help. "You owe me for this Jethro. I swore I'd never deal with this man again."

Tensions were high at NCIS. Everyone was worried about Gibbs, and even though they tried not to let their emotions get the better of them, it happened. Which is why McGee stood dumbfounded as he watched Abby and Ziva smacking each other.

"Feeling better?" Kate asked as she walked in at the tail end of the slap fight.

"Yes." Both of the other women answered.

"Close your mouth McGee." Kate said with a shake of her head. "Abby, any luck on the components?"

"Was just about to look at those." Abby said as she moved over to her table and away from Ziva.

"I'll give you a hand." Kate said.

McGee nearly ran from the room to tell Tony what happened, while Ziva went to the bathroom. It was hard for her to show emotion around the others, even if she did feel she could. They were her family, she loved them, respected them, but she couldn't let herself appear weak in front of them, at least not yet. Slipping out of the building and off base Ziva headed over to the hospital.

"How is he?" She asked as she stepped into Gibbs room.

"Stable for now." Jenny answered. She looked up at the woman she thought of as a little sister. She could see Ziva was holding it all in and made a note to herself to be there when the younger woman finally broke.

Ziva walked over to Gibbs and wrapped her fingers around his hand. She leaned down and whispered, "You are stronger than this."

Memories of Shannon and Kelly were once again pushed out of the way, replaced by memories of a stubborn, strong, and yet fragile young woman. Another young woman who'd become a daughter to him, just like Kate. The first flash of memory was the way she'd smiled, the sound of her chuckle the first time he smacked in the back of the head. Then he remembered the way she smiled the first time he kissed her temple. He remembered the way she looked coming out of the house with Kennedy when they found her. The way he held her when he told her Ari was dead. All the ways she messed up American idioms

"Are you lonely, Gibbs?"

"You're never alone when you have kids. Goodnight kid."

Then he remembered the handful of times he'd seen her cry, the times he'd seen her hurt, and once again he let himself sink back into old memories.

"What do you got Abs?" Tony asked as he and McGee walked into her lab, Caf-Pow in hand.

Abby looked up with that look that warned them that things were about to get ugly. "I found a match on the explosives. The bomb signature matched a couple of other bombings in our database. Kate was able to find the link between them all."

Everyone turned their attention to Kate who said, "They all have one thing in common. A connection to Trent Kort."

Tony groaned as she took out his cell phone. Jenny wasn't going to like what he was about to tell her. When she picked up he could hear the medical equipment in the background, letting him know that she was back at the hospital with Gibbs. He read her in, updating her on what they'd learned. When she told him to put her in speaker he did and then put his phone down on Abby's table.

"Tony, I want you and Ziva…"

"She's isn't here Director." Tony cut in.

In Gibbs hospital room Jenny looked over at Ziva and rolled her eyes. "Kate."

"Yes Dirtor?" Kate replied.

"Smack him." Jenny said.

Kate grinned as she smacked Tony in the back of the head while Jenny said, "Yes Tony, I know that. Don't interrupt."

"Yes Director, sorry Director." Tony said sheepishly while rubbing his head and glaring at Kate

"I want you and Ziva to continue looking into the bomb blast." Jenny continued. "Comb over every inch of that ship, question every person on it, near it, who looked at it, look into every nook and cranny." There was a pause. Ziva had given her a nod of understanding, and after one last whispered word to Gibbs she left. Then Jenny continued. "Kate, I want you in MTAC. I'll call you with further instructions. McGee, Abby, help out where ever you're needed."

"Is there any change?" Abby asked.

Jenny's voice softened. "No Abs, nothing yet. I'll call you as soon as there is, I promise."

After disconnecting from Tony Jenny gave Kate enough time to get to MTAC before calling her. "It's another distraction, at least in part. Ari had his own agenda when he took Kennedy, La Grenouille use that to his own advantage. My gut's telling me the same applies here. Whoever set that blast on the ship has their own reasons; Tony and Ziva will deal with that. But this time we're not going to let the frog just hop away unnoticed. So here's what I want you to do."

Kate was a little unsure about this, but knowing that Jenny had confidence in her helped Kate have confidence in herself. Besides, it was kind of cool that while Tony was playing Gibbs she got to play Director. This would totally trump his senior field agent crap.

With her people doing what they do best Jenny was able to focus on Jethro. She was worried about what the doctors were calling unusual brain activity. She was so lost in her thoughts and memories that she didn't hear him come in until he spoke.

"Don't you have an agency to run little miss Lady Director?" Mike Franks said as he stood there looking at his friend and his friend's woman.

"I am running it." Jenny replied without turning to look at Gibbs' mentor and friend.

"From the bedside of just one of hundreds of agents under your command?" Mike teased.

Steely blue eyes shot Mike one hell of a look. "You know why I'm here."

"Yeah, I know." Mike said as he walked to the other side of the bed. He gave Gibbs one quick look over and then he looked up, meeting Jenny's eyes. Then he reached out and smacked her a good one, right in the back of the head.

Jenny's eyes went wide as her hand went up to rub where Mike had popped her. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You know damn well what that was for!" Mike growled back. She was about to argue with him, he could see it, the look in those sharp blue eyes, that redheaded temper flaring, but he wasn't about to let her. "Shut up Shepard and sit down. I'm about to tell you why he should of have done that when you pulled the shit you pulled on him. I'm going to tell you not for you, but for him, because wither he knows it or not, he needs you to know." He pulled an old picture out of the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to her. It was a picture of Gibbs, Shannon, and Kelly. "That pretty little redhead's Probie's first wife, Shannon; and that beautiful little girl, their daughter, Kelly. They were murdered while the Probie here was getting his ass blown up in the desert."

Mike told her everything. He told her about Shannon being a witness, about being in NIS protective custody, and about their deaths. He told her about Gibbs' being wounded while surviving in Desert Storm, about him coming home to find out what happened to his wife and daughter, and about how Gibbs joined NIS following some personal leave. He let Jenny follow the bread crumbs to what Gibbs had done while on leave, never coming right out and saying that he killed his family's killer. He knew she'd understand. She'd killed Ari after all. When Mike was finished Jenny was overwhelmed. She saw Jethro in a whole new light, a light that made a lot of her mistakes that much sharper.

He gave her time to take it all in and then smirked as he said, "Want me to smack ya again? I kind of enjoyed it the first time."

Jenny shot him a glare that made the most hard-core military personal cringe.

"Offer stands." He told her, still smirking. "I need a smoke." He moved towards the door and then paused, "Only been two women ever got to know the real man, all the others were just company. One's dead and gone. The other, well, she's a goddamn fool."

"Oh Jethro." Jenny said softly as she gently placed her hand on his bandaged head. "I'm so sorry."

Tony and Ziva were out in the field. Kate was locked away in MTAC. McGee didn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't get the smell of burned flesh and explosives out of his nose no matter what he did. He needed a moment to breathe, a moment to refocus, so he headed over to the hospital. He used the excuses of checking on Gibbs for Abby and updating Jenny, afraid that if he showed his own concern it would come across as weak. After he'd filled her in, Jenny stepped out to speak with Gibbs' doctors and Mike Franks. Tim stood beside Gibbs' bed. He looked down at his mentor for a long moment before putting his hand on Gibbs' arm. "Come on Boss. You really can't leave me alone with Tony. That's not fair."

Flashes of the NIS auto yard, the blood stained dashboard, the broken bloody windshield, the bullet holes, filled Gibbs mind. That was his wife's blood, his daughter's blood, their bodies were on cold sliding metal tables in refrigerated cubes, their belongings stashed in green boxes with their names on them. His pain was overshadowed only by his anger. Mike Franks was at his back, then showing him the file, and then putting an NIS jacket on him. And then he had his hands on McGee, showing him how marines snapped a person's neck. He replayed every time he smacked McGee in the back of the head, and all the times McGee had lost him when he started tech babbling.

"Sorry Boss."

"Never say your sorry, McGee. It's a sign of weakness."

Then he flashed to the gym, McGee getting his butt kicked by Kate. He could feel himself smirking the way a father does when he watches his kids at play. Then he saw the look on McGee's face the first time he had to kill in the line of duty. That haunting expression of an innocence lost. Something inside a man chances in that moment, and he couldn't keep McGee from that, couldn't protect him from it. Gibbs' mind flashed back to the Mexican hilltop, the feel of the hot, packed earth beneath him, the choking grit of the dust as he inhaled. He saw the truck, the man inside, he pulled the trigger; it wasn't the first life he'd taken.

As much as she wanted to, Jenny couldn't stay at Jethro's side. She did have an agency run, and she had their child to take care of. Leaving Jethro with Mike she went to NCIS to check in with the team. It was a good thing she did. They'd all been so caught up in what they were doing none of them could answer her when she asked when the last time they ate was, or if they'd gone home to sleep at all. The blanket and pillow behind Kate's desk told her that Kate hadn't gone home after leaving the hospital, and Ziva's bitchiness told her that the younger woman hadn't eaten since who knew when. So she forced them all to take a break, making it a direct order. When exactly had she gone from a mother of one to a mother of six?

Nothing was said but he knew he was there. His boy. Again the memories in Gibbs' subconscious changed.

"DiNozzo!"

"Yeah Boss?"

"On it Boss!"

"On your six, Boss."

He remembered Tony trying to suck up by getting him coffee, only to end up wearing it. Tony sitting at his desk looking through the girly magazines he kept in his backpack. He saw Tony in Cuba, pointing his gun at an iguana. The movie quotes, the bad impersonations, the skirt chasing, and head slapping, all sped pass his mind's eye. He flashed to Tony and Kate throwing food at each other from their desks, and then to Tony opening that kissed envelope. He'd almost died, his boy. The pain pulled him under again. Each time, he would remember, he would see their faces, their smiles, hear their laughter, and then he would remember them in pain, he would remember letting them down, not being there when he should have been there, and he was gone again. Lost in the most painful memories of all. It was almost as if he were punishing himself, over and over again, for all the times he wasn't there.

"I've been noticing something." Captain Gelfand, the Navy Neuro doctor in charge of Gibbs' case, said. "There are spikes of responsive activity showing up on the EEG monitors. I hadn't been able to link it until now, just after Agent DiNozzo's visit. Each spike in activity has happened during a visit, the first happening with Agent Todd."

Jenny felt a bubble of hope. "He's remembering the people in his life and that's pulling him towards waking up?"

"Could be, yes." The Doctor said, not committing in that way doctor's had that kept them from liable.

Taking her phone out Jenny dialed a number. "He needs you."

Fifteen minutes later Abby was at Gibbs' bedside. If remembering the people he loved brought Jethro back to them, Jenny would make sure those people had access to him. There was just one she was struggling with. Could she, should she, bring Kennedy in to see her father like this. Would it do her more harm then it would do him good?

In Gibbs room Abby was talking a mile a minute. She was telling Gibbs everything, from what she'd had for lunch to how the case was going, from Tony leading the team to Kate manning MTAC, to Ziva making the ship captain wet his pants.

Something in Gibbs flashed to the bomb, to the movement just before it went off. There was something important there but as quickly as it came, it was gone again. Replaced by memories of Abby. Before Kennedy, before Ziva, before Kate, there had been Abby. His little girl, the young woman he hoped Kelly would have grown up to be. Honest, loving, smart, funny, compassionate, independent, and yet always and unashamedly daddy's little girl.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!"

"Right here Abs."

Caf-Pows, kissed cheeks, that smile he had that was just for her.

"Yes Sir!"

"Don't call me sir."

"Yes Ma'am."

They were his kids, each and every one of them. Tony, Kate, Tim, Ziva and Abby, they weren't just people he worked with, people he bossed around. They were his family. Ducky. Ducky was his brother. The young rogue, the brilliant doctor from the RAMC, the handsome, suave Scot he'd clicked with instantly, who'd seen the truth about him and Jenny before they did. The three of them were one hell of team, taking on Europe, watching each other's backs. Jenny. He loved her. He still loved her. She had both hurt him beyond words and healed him more then she could ever know. Loving her had helped him heal from the loss of Shannon. She had given him Kennedy. Kennedy. His daughter. His baby girl. Getting a second change to be a father, that had healed a part of him that had always remained a gapping hole.

In his mind Gibbs saw Shannon standing at the train station, he could hear her voice saying his name. The memory flickered; it wasn't her voice calling out to him. The memory flickered. Shannon was fading away. "Shannon?" Gibbs said, his voice husky and stretchy from lack of use, raw from the tube that had been in his throat the night before.

"Jethro?" Jenny asked softly, getting to her feet and moving close to him.

Shannon smiled at him as she faded away and somehow it let him know it was all right and that it was time to leave his memories in the past. The voice calling out to him now was Jenny's. His mind filled with memories of Paris and London. Of him and Jenny, happy, making love, walking together along the streets, her curled into his side.

"Jethro?" Jenny said softly. "It's Jen, Jetthro, can you hear me?"

Gibbs moaned softly. "Jenny?"

Jenny felt such relief she choked on a sob. "Yes, yes Jethro it's me."

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. Their eyes met, he could see tears welling in hers. He reached up to wipe one off her cheek. "When did you cut your hair? It's cute. I like it."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. Her hair had been short for over a year now.

He tried to move but it hurt and he groaned. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Jenny asked.

Gibbs thought about it and said, "No."

"What do you remember?" She asked as she held his hand tightly in her own. Part of her was scared that he'd fall back into a coma if she let go. The smile on his face said it all. "You're remembering Paris."

"With the kind of brain injury Jethro has suffered a lapse in memory isn't uncommon." Ducky reassured while the doctors looked their friend over. Gibbs had gotten upset when he realized his memory was messed up, and the doctors had forced Jenny out while they treated him.

"What do we do Ducky?" Jenny asked.

He took her hand in his and held it tightly. "We keep doing what we've been doing my dear. We have faith in him, we have faith in knowing he'll come back to us."

Her mom kept her up to date with what was going on with her dad. She kind of understood why she wasn't allowed to see him. They were still safely in that place where he was untouchable, strong, the hero. It wouldn't be easy for her to see him hurt, weak, and maybe even scared. But she needed to see him. Her mom said he was awake, that he was still having some problems, but she needed to be with her dad. Walking into the hospital she gave the nurse at the front desk her name. "Kennedy Gibbs-Shepard. I'm here to see my father, Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

Something in the look the nurse gave her upon hearing her last name let the girl know the woman had already had dealings with her mother. Kennedy couldn't help but smirk as she made her way up to her father's floor. When she got to his room she found it empty. Walking up to the nurse's station she asked, "Excuse me. Where's my Dad?"

"I believe he went for a walk with is friend." The nurse told her. "He'll be down in the count yard."

"Thank you." Kennedy replied and then went in search of Gibbs. When she found him he'd just finished throwing up a steak and was standing with another man she didn't know. He had burns on his face, he looked pale, a little unsteady on his feet and she wanted to cry. She didn't though, she was a Shepard, she was a Gibbs, and she could be strong because her dad would need her to be. "Daddy!"

The word rang in Jethro's mind, a harmonized mix of Kelly's voice and Kennedy's. He stepped away from Mike so he could see who'd called out to him. A part of him had expected to see Kelly, but what he got was auburn red instead of light brown, blue eyes instead of hazel. Kelly looked like Shannon. Kennedy looked like Jenny, like him. He remember the first time he'd seen her, that moment they shared after she was rescued before she ran to her mother. He remembered sitting in that Thai restaurant teasing her over bubble tea and the first time she'd called him Dad.

Gibbs sank to his knees and opened his arms. Kennedy smiled at him and ran right to him. He engulfed her as it all snapped back into place. Every memory, everything he'd locked away to keep safe, the good, the bad, and the truth.

"I'm so glad you're ok." Kennedy said as she hugged her dad tightly but carefully.

"Of course I'm ok." Gibbs replied as he held her face in his hands and kissed her forehead while wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

Jenny was more then a little surprised when Jethro stormed into the MTAC. She watched in awe as he explained what was going on, and he tried to get the idiots on screen to listen to him, but they wouldn't. Jenny would never forget their faces as that boat blew up. Gibbs had been right. They should have listened to him. If they had, lives would have been saved.

"How?" Jenny asked once they were alone in her office.

"Kennedy." Gibbs said with a smirk.

"I should have brought her to see you sooner." Jenny said softly.

Jethro shook his head. "You were protecting her."

She could see the hurt in his eyes, and knew it had nothing to do with their daughter. "You tried, Jethro."

"I try a lot." He replied.

"You succeed even more." She told him.

"I don't always." He said.

"Jethro." A sudden fear washed over her.

He looked at her, he let himself feel what he'd been trying not to feel since the first time he saw her in MTAC. It scared him. "I can't."

"Jethro." Jenny said softly.

"I'm sorry, Jen." He said softly. He stepped closer to her. He kissed her gently. Then he walked out of her office, down the stairs, into the mist of his waiting family. He said goodbye to each of them. He shook his boys' hands, he hugged his girls, and he left. He wasn't running, he didn't run, but he needed time and space. He needed to greave for Shannon, for Kelly, and he needed to work out how he felt about other things, other people. But they didn't know that, all they knew was that he was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Everything was different. NCIS was different, the feel of the office, the way the team worked together, the way her agents behaved. They stepped up, they did their jobs, but they missed him. Tony stepped in to lead the team and he was great at it, but he hadn't been ready for it, he hadn't had the time to really adjust to it, so he was acting more like Gibbs then like DiNozzo. Jenny did her best to pick up the mentor-slash-parental slack, but it felt off. She and Jethro had become a team, partners, and she just couldn't fill his shoes. Not at NCIS and not at home either. Kennedy missed her father. She missed her weekends with him, she missed working on their little projects together, she missed him showing up at the townhouse just to say goodnight. She tried to explain to Kennedy that Jethro just needed some time to process things. She told her that a lot happened to him while he was in a coma, and he needed to deal with those emotions. Kennedy tried, but she couldn't hide how hurt she was. Especially when she went back to calling him Gibbs.

"Hey sweetheart." Gibbs' voice said over the crackly landline. "You and Mom ok?"

"Yeah Gibbs." Kennedy replied softly. She was curled up in the desk chair in the study. "We're fine."

"Did you go to the circus?" He asked. "I know you were really looking forward to it."

It had been meant for them but he was here. "Yeah, Tony took me. I was ok."

"We'll go next." Gibbs promised.

"Yeah, sure, ok." She replied.

How was she supposed to help Kennedy understand what Jethro did, when she didn't understand herself? Yes, she understood that he needed to deal with loosing Shannon and Kelly all over again, but he couldn't do that while staying close to the daughter he still had? Did he have to go all the way to Mexico? If Jenny really let herself think about things she would realize that it wasn't just Shannon and Kelly who drove Jethro to Mexico, but she wouldn't let herself think about it. Not much anyway. She couldn't help but think about it a little. He'd kissed her. Before walking out of her office Jethro had kissed her. And it wasn't a kiss like he'd given the girls, on the temple or the cheek, no it was a kiss on the lips, his strong callused hands holding her face; it was the kind of kiss he use to give her. What the hell was that about?

"Does that bother you?" Tony asked Ziva while he leaning against her desk.

Ziva looked up from the paperwork she was trudging through. "Does what bother me?"

Tony pointed with his chin towards Jenny and Kate who were up on the catwalk talking over a collection of folders. "That, Kate and the Director. Aren't you supposed to be Director's Pet? Doesn't it bother you that she seems to be grooming Kate for the big chair?"

"No, it does not." Ziva answered honestly. "Kate has certain skills I am lacking. I would not make a very good director."

Tony chuckled. "What? Worried you end up killing someone?" He teased.

"Yes." Ziva said honestly and then went back to her paperwork. A moment later she looked at Tony again. "Does it bother you?"

"Na, you're right." Tony answered. "Kate's better suited for that kind of thing. I'm good where I'm at."

Ziva nodded her agreement.

Half an hour later it was Kate leaning against Ziva's desk. "Did you convince Abby to come along? I tried, but she's just so down without Gibbs. It's like someone kicked her dog and smashed her ice cream all at once."

"She agreed." Ziva answered as she put her things away and stood from her chair.

Kate gave the other woman a look. "You didn't threaten to like pull her fingernails out or anything did you?"

"I did not have to." Ziva replied. "Though I did have a plan to hold Bert hostage. Luckily it did not come to that. I simply had to mention for whom we are going for."

"Where are you ladies off too?" Tony asked as Kate and Ziva passed him on their way to the elevator.

"Shopping." Kate answered.

Tony wiggled his eyebrows at them. "Sexy shopping?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Birthday shopping. Kennedy's birthday party this weekend." The look on Tony's face let Kate know he'd forgotten. When he looked at her with his best puppy look she shook her head. "No." She said firmly. "We're not picking up your gift. Do it yourself."

"Oh come on!" Tony pleaded. "You're girls, she's a girl, you'll know what to get her!"

"She's a child, you are a child, you will do fine." Ziva replied.

"Put some thought into it, Tony." Kate told him. "It's not that hard. And it'll mean more to her. She'll know if we picked it out or if you did."

No matter what was going on, no matter where her mom was, or what she was doing, they were always together on her birthday. Kennedy knew that some years her mom had to pull a lot of strings to get back to her and that meant a lot to her. Some people would criticize Jenny for taking off on sometimes long, sometimes dangerous, sometimes both assignments, leaving Kennedy in the care of a nanny or boarding school, but not Kennedy. She knew without any doubt that she was the most important thing in her mother's life, and that her mom loved her beyond anything else. All Kennedy would have had to do was ask and Jenny would have stayed, but Kennedy never did. She was proud of her mom.

Jenny stood in the doorway of her daughter's room watching Kennedy sleep. She let her mind drift back eleven years to the day Kennedy was born in a little hospital room in Paris. She hadn't met Ziva yet, her father had long since past, her mother and sister were in the states, Jethro was in D.C. totally unaware, Ducky was in Afghanistan, which left Jenny totally alone. She didn't have to be. She could have called Jethro. She could have called Ducky. But she didn't, she made the choice to have her baby alone, to raise her little girl alone. Lately she'd been questioning that choice, even now with Jethro down in Mexico, she found herself wishing she'd done things differently.

Kennedy started to stir, slowly coming out of whatever dream she'd been having. Jenny smiled as she walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. She waited patiently until those beautiful blue eyes, true blue like Jethro's, not blue like hers expect for when hers were green, fluttered open and a sleepy smile peeked up at her. "Happy birthday baby."

Kennedy sat up so she could get a hug from her mom. As soon as Jenny's arms were around her Kennedy snuggled into her mother's embrace. She smiled softly, a soft sigh on her lips; this was her favorite place in the world, wrapped up in her mom's arms.

They snuggled for a little while, Jenny playing with Kennedy's hair and dropping kisses to the top of her head. After a few more peaceful moments Jenny said, "Ready for your first present?"

"Wait, I have to get my necklace!" Kennedy said as she crawled out of bed. She paddled over to her dresser and pulled open the top drawer. She fished around for a few seconds and then pulled out a black velvet pouch. When she got back to her bed Jenny was already holding out the little box the held a perfect little pearl. When she was born Jenny had gotten her a single pink pearl, for her first birthday she'd gotten her a white one. Every year since Jenny gave Kennedy a single white pearl that Kennedy added to the stand she kept in the pouch.

Jenny helped Kennedy put the pearl on the strand while telling her why she'd started picking up pearls. "I wanted to make sure you had something very special from me."

"Like the emerald necklace Grandma gave you." Kennedy said as she leaned against her mom and caressed the pearls between her fingers.

"Yes, like that." Jenny said with a smile. She kissed her daughter's temple and hugged her. Her baby was getting so big, and she was going to be stunning when she was grown. It both excited Jenny and terrified her. "Speaking of Grandma, there is a huge package in the study post marked California, and addressed to a Miss K.E. Shepard."

"Yes!" Kennedy cheered. "Grandma sends the best presents ever!"

Jenny laughed. "Yeap, nothing better than being spoiled." She watched as Kennedy put her velvet pouch back in her dresser drawer and then dash for the door. "Don't you think we should have breakfast first? I mean Noami went though a lot of trouble to make Captain Crunch French toast and eggs Benedict. She thinks your weird by the way." When she caught up to her daughter Kennedy was standing on the stairs looking down into the foyer. The look on the girl's face had gone from excitement to a mix of surprise and uncertainty. "Kennedy?"

She'd made it half way down the stairs before she saw him. He was just standing there in the foyer looking up at her. His face was scruffy with a beard and mustache, his hair was long and shaggy, and his skin was darker from being in the sun. He was wearing tan cargo shorts, sandals, and an off white linen shirt. His beat up old Marine issue duffle bag had been dropped to the floor by his feet. It had only been three months but he looked like a totally different man. Kennedy stood there on the stairs looking down at him, looking into his eyes, unable to say anything or to even move.

"Jethro." Jenny said softly as she came down to stand behind Kennedy on the stairs. She put her hand on Kennedy's shoulder for support and could felt a slight emotional tremble.

"Jen." Jethro said softly, taking his eyes from his daughter just long enough to look at her mother. Then he returned his gaze to Kennedy. "Happy birthday, kid."

"You came back." Kennedy said softly.

Jethro nodded. "I came back." He hadn't been sure what to expect when he saw them. He kind of figured Kennedy was to much like her mother to rush into his arms the moment she laid eyes on him. He couldn't blame her for keeping her distance, he knew he'd hurt her, hurt them, all of them, but he needed to sort things out. He grieved for what he lost which made him realize just what he had.

"What's on your face?" Kennedy asked, her eyes narrowing in a way that made her look like Jen.

Jethro chuckled as he rubbed his hand over his beard. "Don't like it?"

Kennedy just shrugged. He looked weird but she knew better then to say that out loud.

Clearly they weren't going to get past this tension between them until they hashed things out. "Can we talk?" He asked his daughter softly. "Please?"

Kennedy looked up at her mom who gave her a gentle nod and then turned back to her father. "Ok."

Jethro waited until Kennedy came down the stairs and then followed her into the study. He watched as she sat in one of the big leather chairs, pulling her legs up and tucking them under herself. He sat in the chair across from her. "You know I didn't leave because of you, don't you?"

"Mom said you needed to work some things out." Kennedy said softly. "That it was about stuff that happened a long time ago and didn't have anything to do with any of us."

"She was right." Jethro said as he caught his daughter's eyes, making her look at him. "The accident I had on that ship, it messed my head up, knocked something around. I remembered a lot of stuff that I tried really hard not to remember because it hurt to remember."

"Does it still hurt?" Kennedy asked.

"I can remember now and not feel as sad." Jethro answered after giving it some careful thought. "When you loose someone you love it always hurts a little bit to miss them."

Kennedy thought about this and said, "The way it hurts Mom when she remembers Grandpa."

Jethro nodded. "Yeah, like that."

"Who do you miss, Gibbs?" Kennedy asked carefully.

It hurt to hear her call him Gibbs again but he knew he deserved it. Sending her a post card every week and calling her whenever he was at the cantina wasn't going to win him father of the year. She'd just gotten to the point where she trusted him enough to call him dad and he turns around and leaves. He wouldn't push her; he was willing to do the work all over. He looked over at Jenny who was lingering in the doorway, unsure of wither he should tell Kennedy or not. Jenny gave him a nod, telling him to go ahead because it was the only way she'd understand. It took him a few minutes before he could look at his daughter and tell her. "You know I've been married before."

"Three times." Kennedy said with a nod.

"Four." Jethro corrected. "My first wife, Shannon, and I met the day I left for the Marines." It was easier then he thought, talking about Shannon. One of the things he realized while bobbing around on Mike's boat was that he wasn't being fair to Shannon or Kelly by keeping them locked away in the dark depths of his memory. He loved them, and he should share that, share their memories, with the people he loved now. So he told his daughter and her mother about Shannon, and about Kelly. "We had a little girl, Kelly. She was your half sister." He paused a moment before continuing. "She played the piano, she loved it, but she still made the same scrunched nose face you make when you'd rather be playing then practicing your violin. She loved horses, and playing in the garden with her mother."

Jenny stayed by the door and listened. She wanted to go to her daughter, especially after seeing the expression on Kennedy's face when Jethro said Kelly was her sister, but this needed to be between Kennedy and Jethro.

"There was an accident. The van they were in went off the road." Jethro said carefully. He didn't think he should go into more detail then was necessary at this point. When she was older he would tell her more, but for right now it was enough for her to learn she'd had sister. He felt bad enough that he was telling her this on her birthday. "Shannon and Kelly were killed. I was deployed when it happened, recovering in a hospital in Kuwait from injuries I got when a mine went off."

Kennedy listened carefully, her eyes a little wide from the shock of it all. She had a sister that she would never know. Her eyes began to water. The other bedroom at her dad's house, the one with the locked door, must have been hers. She looked over at her mom and than back over at her dad. She thought about how much it hurt to miss him, and he'd only been gone for three months and she'd known where he was, that he was alive. She couldn't really understand just how much it hurt to miss someone who died, but it had to be awful. Getting up from her chair Kennedy went to her dad and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You don't have to miss them by yourself anymore."

Jethro didn't know what to say as he felt tears sting his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and held onto her for dear life. Hold Kennedy in his arms just reaffirmed the most important lesson he'd learned while he was away. He was still alive.

After breakfast, and before she would agree to go get a shower, Jethro had to promise Kennedy he'd be at her birthday party later. She also informed him that as far as she was concerned he was on probation. She understood all the ways but deep down it still hurt that he left. She also informed him, much to both her parents' surprise, that he no longer had a right to be angry with Jenny for past mistakes. He couldn't be mad at her for keeping Kennedy out of his life, when he made the choice to leave for a justified, but selfish reason.

Picking up his duffle bag he turned to look at Jenny. He might have been able to work out his past, but his present was still a big old mess. "Jen."

"Not now, Jethro." She said softly. "Not today. We'll talk later."

He simply nodded, gave her a crooked smile, and headed home.

Kennedy had decided that she wanted her party at a massive laser tag complex she'd discovered online. She also asked that the party happen in two waves, the first half was just for family, and the second half would include her friends from school and the kids on the block. After Jethro had left that morning Jenny made sure to talk to Kennedy, to see how she was feeling about what had happened, and what she'd found out. Kennedy had been understandably emotional about it all, but the closer they got to the time for her party the more excited she got. By the time they pulled into the Shadowland parking lot she could give Abby a run for her money in the hyper department.

"We have to sign a waiver?" Kate asked as the group began gathering. "Are you sure this is a kids' game?"

"What's the matter Kate?" Tony teased. "Afraid of a little fun?"

"You're going down DiNozzo." Kate shot back.

"Code names?" Ziva asked her dark brow lifted in question. "Why do we need code names?"

"It's part of the experience Ziva." McGee explained. "We play on teams, and each game is it's own op, with code names, briefings, the whole deal."

Kennedy nodded so hard she looked like a bobble head. "I get to pick teams! Boys vs Girls first!"

"That's not fair." Tony replied as he put 007 down as he code name. "We're out numbered five to four."

"Five to three." Ducky said. "I'm well past my laser tag playing days."

"Four to three." Jenny added. "I'll sit this one out."

"Still unfair." Tony pouted. "She has," He peeked at Ziva's form. "Ninja Chick? Really?"

"It was Kennedy's idea." Ziva replied while Kennedy giggled.

Tony just shook his head. "The Gibblet has Ziva and who do I get? McGoofball and the Autopsy Gremlin."

"Well I'll tell ya what DiNozzo." Gibbs said from behind them. "Why don't we even things out. All of you on one team and me on the other, does that sound fair to you?"

"Sounds fair to me Boss." Tony replied with a flinch before it hit him. Spinning on his heel he turned to look at Gibbs with wide eyes. "Boss!"

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby squealed as she launched herself at the man. She hugged him so hard Ziva told her to ease up so the man could breathe.

"Are you back or just visiting?" Kate asked once Abby let go of him. She was looking at him with the same hurt and disappointment he'd see in Kennedy's eyes that morning.

"I'm back." Gibbs answered.

They just looked at each other for several moments before Kate finally nodded. "Good." She smiled at him and then added, "You have hair on your face."

"It's manly Boss." Tony said with a huge grin, clearly happy about having Gibbs back.

Kennedy scrunched her nose. "It's prickly when you hug him."

"I like it!" Abby pipped in.

While the kids argued over his beard Gibbs walked over to Ducky who looked less than pleased to see him. "Ducky."

"Jethro." The older man said a little gruffly.

Nothing more was said since their party was called up for their turn. Kennedy, being her parents' child, ended up getting her way. Girls vs Boys. After a few flutters of her eyelashes and a pouty lip both her mother and Ducky agreed to play at least once. The arena was huge and full of ramps, alleys, and bridges, even buildings. It was dark, foggy, with flashing beams of colored lights. They were given a capture the flag scenario, and a few minutes of time to get a strategy together after being geared up.

"It is a war game?" Ziva asked while they waited for the signal to start.

Kate nodded, "Pretty much."

"And this is fun for children?" Ziva asked.

Abby giggled. "It is when you're an NCIS kid. Seriously, her parents are totally the Avengers. Not the superheroes, the spies."

Jenny snorted. "I'm way cooler then Emma Peel."

Jenny and Gibbs didn't get a chance to talk. Kennedy kept them busy and by the next morning they found themselves defending one of their own when Ziva found herself being set up. Once Ziva was in the clear, work continued to get in the way. Gibbs was brought back in to lead the team; Jenny had to find someone to lead the team she offered Tony after he turned it down. If she were honest with herself Jenny was glad that she and Jethro couldn't seem to find a spare moment to talk. She honestly didn't know what to say. Everyone kept telling her that he only truly loved two women his whole life, Shannon, and though they never came right out and said it, her. But how was she supposed to come close to what Shannon had been to him?

"Agent Todd, what are you doing?" Jenny asked, stepping up behind the younger woman, causing her to jump. Jenny couldn't help but smile softly.

Kate titled her head to the side after giving Jenny a soft, careful, glare. "Resisting the urge to poke Gibbs' mustache to see if it wiggles like a caterpillar."

"It is a little weird." Jenny agreed as they watched Gibbs from across the room.

"Is he ok?" Kate asked softly as she turned her head to look at Jenny. Abby, Tony, even Ziva had been more then willing to welcome Gibbs back with open arms and no lingering resentment. Kate on the other had was feeling a little abandoned by him and wasn't ready to be so forgiving. That didn't mean however that she wasn't concerned. She wouldn't be angry with him if she didn't care so much.

Jenny watched him for several moments before saying, "He's fine, Kate. And I don't think he'll be pulling that again any time soon, so it's ok to forgive him."

"Have you?" Kate asked her friend softly.

"I'm working on it." Jenny said honestly. She gave the younger woman a soft reassuring smile and then headed upstairs.

Gibbs was still Gibbs but there was something different about him. Jenny watched him carefully, she couldn't help herself, and she noticed that he was lighter somehow. She envied him in away. He was moving on from his past, from his grief, and that was something she wished she could do. She'd told him about her father's murder before the accident, and he'd tried to tell her that holding onto her need for revenge wasn't going to help anyone. She hadn't understood until Mike told her about Mexico, that Jethro had been speaking from experience. The difference between her situation and Jethro's was that he'd known the truth, and there were still lies surrounding her father's death. Or at least that's what Jenny kept telling herself as she continued pressuring her personal demon, and there was no way Jethro could blame her, not after that demon had pulled Kennedy into their game.

Opening the front door Jenny smiled softly. "Jethro."

"Jen." He greeted as he stepped into the townhouse. "She ready to go?"

"Almost. She's taking a shower." Jenny said as she led him back to the study. "She got back from her swimming practice late."

"Swimming?" Jethro asked with a raised brow.

Jenny chuckled. "Cricket wasn't for her."

Jethro just shook his head. He knew that what Kennedy needed was to go back to riding, but she refused, and now she was to stubbornly focused on finding something new to stop until she did. He couldn't decide if she got that from him or Jen, or both. Either way, it could spell trouble for them when she was older. Knowing that Kennedy tended to linger in the shower Jethro knew he had some time and this was the first time they'd been alone since he'd gotten back. "Jen we need to talk."

"Jethro." Jen began to protest.

"No, don't Jethro me." He warned her. "We need to talk about what happened."

"You were hurt, you suffered a physical trauma that caused you to relive an emotional one." Jenny said as she moved to the bookshelves where she kept her alcohol. It was a little early for bourbon so she cracked open a sparkling water just to fulfill the motion of pouring a drink. "You needed to deal with loosing Shannon and Kelly. You..."

"I kissed you." Jethro said as he made her turn around to face him.

"You were saying goodbye." Jenny said softly, not meeting his eyes. "You kissed the girls goodbye too."

He titled her head up, making her look at him. "You know there was a difference Jenny. I catch that look in your eyes from time to time. I know you remember what it was like when I kissed you."

"Jethro." Jenny's voice trembled. Wither she'd meant to or not Jenny had put up a protective barrier against him, against his ghosts.

"You're not the only one who made mistakes in Paris." Jethro said softly. "You might have been the one who walked away, but I let you. And I let you because I couldn't separate my feelings for you from the memory of Shannon. She was my first love, Jen. Part of me will always love her. But she's gone, and I'm here. Shannon and I had our time and I'll always cherish that. Maybe right now isn't our time, but I don't think our time has passed yet Jen. I just thought you should know."

He was letting her know that he understood she wasn't there yet, and he wasn't there yet, but that there was a chance if they wanted it. Question was, did she want it? And was she willing to go after it? "Jethro, you're still dealing with your loss. You're still sleeping on your couch."

"It's a really comfortable couch." He teased with a crooked grin. Then he turned serious again, "I'm working on it, Jen."

Before Jenny could reply there was a shout from the landing above them. "Mom!" Kennedy's voice bounced off the wood walls. "I can't find my Ziva boots!"

"Ziva boots?" Jethro asked with a raised brow.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Ziva bought her a matching pair of boots when they went to the mall last weekend." Walking out of the study and into the foyer she looked up at her daughter. "Did you check your closet where they're suppose to be when you're not wearing them?"

"Why would I put them in my closet?" Kennedy asked, actually looking confused.

"Because that's where clothes and shoes go when they're not on your body or the hamper." Jenny lightly scolded. "Oh wait you don't know what a hamper is either."

"Ha ha very funny." Kennedy said with a roll of her eyes.

Jenny stopped herself from smirking. "Check the closet."

"Ok." Kennedy groaned.

Ten minutes later Kennedy came downstairs in a plaid skirt, black t-shirt with sugar skull on it, black boots that went part way up her calves and a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up. Gibbs took the look in and shook his head. "Abby and Kate went on that shopping trip too didn't they?"

Jenny snorted. "What gave you that idea?"

Kenney snatched up an NCIS hat with bullet holes in the bill. She put it on, slipping her ponytail through the back, and smiled. "Ready."

"We let her spend way to much time with the team." Gibbs said with another shake of his head. He smirked as he asked, "What? No McGee?" Kennedy pulled out the cell phone she got for her birthday and showed him the tardis blue case and dalek charm. "Yeap, you need friends your own age."

"They're not friends." Kennedy informed her father. "They're family."

"She has you there, Jethro." Jenny said with a smile.

"Come on." He said, smirking proudly at his kid. "If you're dragging me to the zoo lets get it over with."


	11. Chapter 11

When she teased him at the start of the case about going against his Marine nature and playing nice with the army, Jenny hadn't meant take a liking to the CID officer they were forced to work with. Standing at her railing on the catwalk she watched Gibbs and Lt. Col. Hollis Mann working with the team on the latest case they'd pulled. She knew Jethro well enough to know he found Mann appealing, which was odd because she wasn't physically his type. The woman was blonde for pete's sake. But there was something there, an attraction of some sort.

Jealously and anger flared as Jenny watched. Things between her and Jethro had been good, their friendship stronger then ever, and they were thriving as parents to their daughter. Their feelings were still there, still lingering in the background, but they never really talked them. That was Jenny's fault. She didn't want to admit to Jethro that she was feeling insecure and a little overwhelmed, so she avoid talking about any romantic feeling she might have towards him. Jethro was being Jethro about it, not pushing, not pulling, just waiting, or at least she'd thought he was waiting. Waiting for her to come around, waiting for their time, as he'd put it. Clearly she'd been mistaken because she knew Jethro well enough to know when he was flirting.

Making her way down to the bullpen she demanded an update and then processed to let the team know she wanted this wrapped up sooner rather than later. She cited something about the budget, but in reality she just wanted this little team up with the army CID over and done with.

Unfortunately for Jenny, Hollis Mann kept showing up like a bad penny.

She followed him into NCIS and over to the cluster of desks used by him and his team. Since DiNozzo, Todd, and David had been with him it wasn't a surprise to see McGee sitting at his desk working his computer. What did surprise Mann was the tiny person sitting at Gibbs' desk. The child, who was somewhere between nine and twelve, had long auburn red hair which was braided down her back and pulled through the back of an NCIS cap. She couldn't see her eyes because the girl had her head down, her face obscured by the bill of the cap, focused on the notebook she was writing in.

Gibbs walked to his desk without a word. He pulled his gun form his hip, and his badge from his pocket, so he could put them away. As he pulled open his desk drawer he looked over Kennedy's shoulder. "You want to use t-o-o there not t-o." He watched as she corrected it. "You can't just use a common there. You need a connection word."

"I hate grammar." Kennedy mumbled while fixing her mistakes.

"Go play with Abby." Gibbs said as he closed the drawer.

Kennedy's face lit up as she gathered up her stuff, shoving it into her backpack, and then darting away from her dad's desk. She was almost out of sight when Gibbs called out, "One small Caf-Pow. Do not drink one of Abby's." The first time Kennedy had Caf-Pow it had been an extra one Abby had in her fridge. Abby was distracted by something odd about someone's DNA and wasn't paying attention. By the time she did Kennedy had finished off the whole super sized drink. The girl was up for hours past her bedtime, couldn't focus on anything, and buzzed around the townhouse so much her mother called Abby and made her come over to stay up with her wired ten-year-old.

Gibbs didn't give Hollis a chance to ask about the scene she'd just watch unfold or about the girl. He dove right into the case, which then kept them busy well into the next day. When they finally caught a break he sent David and Todd off to bring in the suspect before disappearing. When his agents returned the interrogation kept them busy. By the end of the night, with the murderer on her way to jail, and after watching Gibbs do his thing in interrogation Mann had forgotten about asking about the girl.

"Jethro," Mann's voice called out as she walked towards his basement. "I know it's late and you probably didn't think to stop and get something to eat so I thought I'd come over with some curry from that place in Georgetown you like."

Down in his basement Gibbs was standing behind Kennedy who was sitting on a tall stool at his workbench. He had his arms around her, his hands guiding her hands as she shaved edges off a block of wood. Her first project had been a birdhouse, which was proudly hanging from the tree in his back yard. This was going to be a jewelry box for her mom. When Hollis stepped onto the landing above them talking about food Kennedy's head snapped up and she smirked at her dad, "You forgot to feed me."

"I did not forget to feed you." Gibbs said with a roll of his eyes. "You wanted to finish this before dinner since you were full from all the clowny cakes you and Abby had earlier." He poked her in the side, making her giggle, and then he turned to a very stunned looking Hollis.

To say she was surprised, even shocked, was an understatement. "I'm sorry." Hollis said lamely. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's ok." Gibbs said, titling his head in a way that told her to come down. He watched the way she looked between him and Kennedy and then finally said, "This is Kennedy. My daughter."

Hollis couldn't hide her shock.

"Kennedy, this is Lt. Col. Mann." Gibbs continued.

Kennedy smiled as she offered the woman her sawdust-covered hand. "Hi."

Hollis blinked, still feeling a bit stunned, but then returned the smile and shook the girl's hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Kennedy." Things were really awkward for a few moments before Hollis said, "I guess it's a good thing I brought more than enough to share if your Dad's forgotten to feed you."

Gibbs smiled when Hollis held up the bag full of take-out. Looking down at his little girl he said, "Go wash up."

Once they were alone Hollis looked at Gibbs, arms crossing over her chest. "You told me you had three ex-wives, you didn't say anything about a daughter."

"I would have told you." Gibbs said simply.

"When?" Hollis asked.

"When it was time to tell you." He replied.

"When would it have been time to tell me?" Hollis demanded, though she kept her voice low and soft so it wouldn't carry.

Gibbs sighed as he looked at her and said, "When I was sure it was the right thing to do for the both of you."

She couldn't fault him for wanting to protect his daughter, but still, something like this he should have told her about sooner. She decided to let it go for now because it was hard to know when the girl would come back downstairs. She had so many questions. What else was he keeping from her? And more importantly who was Kennedy's mother? But those questions would have to wait; she could hear the girl coming. When Kennedy joined them she gave the girl a smile and asked, "Mild or hot?"

"Hot please, as long as it doesn't smell." Kennedy answered. "I think my Dad's nose is broken. He likes the smelly stuff."

Hollis laughed. "I've noticed."

While they ate, Gibbs watched them together. Introducing his girlfriend to his daughter wasn't something Gibbs had ever expected to face, but here he was watching his girlfriend and his daughter laugh and giggle in his basement as if they were old friends. He hadn't meant to hurt Hollis by not telling her about Kennedy, he just wanted to be a little more secure and sure about this thing between them. He liked Hollis, he liked her a lot, but deep down he wasn't sure what he was doing when it came to her, and where this whole thing was going. What he did know was that for the first time his feelings weren't shrouded in memories of the past. When he kissed Hollis he no longer felt like he was cheating on Shannon. That's not to say he didn't still feel a twinge of guilt when he kissed her, because he did, only for a whole different reason, a whole other person.

Several hours later he was still watching them, which is why he saw Kennedy trying to hide a yawn. "Ok, that's it time for bed."

"Aww Dad, we're almost finished! I'm winning this time!" Kennedy whined.

Hollis smiled as she took her turn on the Chinese checkers board.

Kennedy frowned. "Or not."

"Maybe next time kiddo." Hollis said with a soft chuckle.

"Next time I pick the game." Kennedy said as she tried to smother another yawn. "How are you at backgammon?"

"Better then I am at Chinese checkers." Hollis replied.

Kennedy looked doubtful. "We'll see about that. I can beat my Dad."

"Bed. Now." Gibbs repeated softly. "I'll be up in a little while."

"Fine, fine, geesh." Kennedy replied and then smiled at Hollis. "Goodnight Col. Mann."

"Goodnight Kennedy." Hollis replied. After she was sure she'd heard feet on the stairs upstairs she looked at Gibbs and smiled, "She's a very sweet kid."

"Yeap." Gibbs said proudly.

Hollis bit her lip for a moment and then asked, "Are there other things about you that you haven't told me."

"Yeah." Gibbs answered honestly while putting the game away.

"Are you ever going to tell me?" She asked.

He hesitated but then said, "Yes."

Jenny was less then thrilled when she found out about the impromptu meeting between their daughter and Jethro's new girlfriend. Kennedy told her all about it that morning over breakfast since Jenny had been at a dinner the evening before and didn't get home until Kennedy was already asleep. As soon as she got in that morning she called him, demanding he make an appearance in her office. As soon as he walked in and closed the door she demanded an explanation. He told her it just happened, that she'd stopped by, but that didn't smooth things over. "We should have discussed this first, Jethro!"

"It wasn't planned, Jen." He grumbled back.

"Just what are you playing at Jethro?" Jenny demanded. He'd come to her, told her that he didn't think they were over yet, that there could still be something between them, and then he just what? Decided to pick up G.I Barbie to play with while he waited?

"I'm not playing at anything." He argued back. He honestly hadn't expected Hollis.

Jenny's anger was about more then just Hollis meeting Kennedy. It was about Jethro and Hollis, and her and Jethro, and her not understanding what was happening in her life. Jenny liked to be in control and when she felt as if she weren't in control that pissed her off. And because she was pissed, she was picking a fight, which turned into one of those arguments that made Cynthia suddenly feel the need to find something to do elsewhere.

"Jethro?" Hollis said later that evening while they were walking back to his car from the movie theater. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine." He grumbled.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You've been more stony silent then usual tonight."

He grumbled under his breath before saying, "Had a fight with Kennedy's mother."

"Ahh." Hollis said with an understanding nod. "Ex-wife didn't like her meeting the new girlfriend?"

"She isn't an ex-wife." Jethro replied, but then changed the subject. His tone letter her know not to push or ask questions.

The looks the other woman gave her. The only slightly veiled hostility she felt whenever she was around. If Hollis would let herself see it, admit to seeing it, she could have figured out who Kennedy's mother was and way Jethro didn't want to tell her. It was one thing to compete with a woman he shared a past with; it was something else to compete with the mother of his only child.

So she didn't push, she didn't ask. For now she let ignorance be bliss.

It couldn't last. Not if they were going to continue seeing each other. She was going to ask him, she was, but as fate would have it. She didn't have too.

Kennedy was staying with her dad while her mom was at a conference. He was working late, finishing up paperwork on the case they'd just closed, and she was sitting at Kate's desk drawing in the sketchbook Kate always left in the drawer for her. Kate would draw something, and Kennedy would try to copy it. It was Kate's way of teaching her how to sketch. Kennedy smiled when she looked up at the sound of Hollis' voice as the woman stepped off the elevator. "He forgot to feed me again."

Hollis laughed. "Then I guess it's a good thing I'm around. How does Greek sound?"

"Gyros!" Kennedy cheered as she leapt from Kate's chair and bounced over to her dad's desk.

They were just finishing up their meals, laughing and joking with each other when the elevator dinged. The office was empty, it was late, and they weren't expecting anyone so both of the soldiers stiffened, waiting to see who it was without alerting Kennedy to their sudden alertness.

It had been a full seven days since Kennedy had seen her mother and despite being eleven years old the moment Jenny stepped off the elevator the girl squealed a very happy, "Mommy!"

"Mommy?" Hollis repeated in surprise, her eye a little wider as she watched Kennedy dart off towards the waiting redhead.

Jenny grinned as she caught Kennedy in a hug. "Hi baby. What are you doing here?"

"Dad's working late, trying to get caught up on his paperwork before his mean ol' boss gets back." Kennedy said with a giggle. "You're home early!"

"Didn't feel like waiting until tomorrow to catch my flight so I got an earlier one." Jenny said, still holding tight to her little girl, and choosing to ignore the little tease about Jethro's mean old boss. "I missed you. I was on my way to Dad's to see you, but I needed to get something from my office first."

When Gibbs looked at her with a questioning look Hollis said, "I'm not really sure why I'm so surprised."

"Jethro." Jenny greeted when Kennedy pulled her over to the desks. "Good evening, Col. Mann."

"Jen." Gibbs said with a nod.

"Good evening, Director Shepard." Hollis replied.

Things were awkward and for Gibbs they only got worse. Maybe it made him a bastard but he liked the flash of jealousy he saw in Jenny's eyes every time she saw him with Hollis. He liked spending time with Hollis and maybe in another life things would have worked out differently, but there would be no commitment here and he knew that going in. Yeah, he was a bastard and he knew it. Which is why he knew he was being punished. How else could he explain why he was suddenly working a case that involved his last ex-wife?

"This isn't about you." Gibbs told her.

"It never was about me was it Jethro?" Stephanie said with a slight shake of her head. "Hell, it wasn't even about them." They both knew he meant Shannon and Kelly. "Or the job, not with us. It was about her." She spat the word her as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. "The one you let slip away."

"Stephanie." Gibbs warned.

The angry redhead just shook her head. "You whispered her name in your sleep, Jethro. Did you know that? In our bed, when you bothered to come to bed at all, you would call out for her."

Hollis watched the scene from the corner of the room. He could feel her eyes on him. Stephanie was two seconds away from saying Jenny's name when McGee showed up. He'd never been more grateful to see the probie. This case was turning into his own personal nightmare.

It had been amusing for Jenny at first. Watching Jethro squirm under her teasing banter with Col. Mann. It wasn't so much fun now that she was the one squirming. As long as Stephanie kept her complaints to Gibbs' and the case, things would be fine. Jenny was professional. She handled people every day. Of course, Stephanie wouldn't keep it professional. How could she? She was the wife who'd followed Jenny's Dear Jethro letter. She was the wife who'd lived for fourteen months in Jenny's shadow.

"She's a beautiful little girl." Stephanie said while looking at the picture of Kennedy on Jenny's desk. "She has her Daddy's eyes." At the look of surprise on Jenny's face she smiled sadly. "I would know those eyes anywhere, Director." She glanced at the picture again, her own eyes filling with sadness. "I wanted children, but he didn't, he couldn't. Not with all the guilt he was lugging around. Besides, I wasn't the one he wanted to have children with."

"Ms. Flynn." Jenny began but Stephanie cut her off.

"It won't last." The other redhead said. "Him and the blonde in fatigues, it won't last. She's just a place holder, just like the rest of us." She paused and added, "Well, not all of us. One of us is the one he's holding the place for."

There it was again. The not so carefully worded implication that she was the one Jethro was in love with, the one he was waiting for. Why did everyone seem to think she was the one that would finally make it work? How were they all so sure she wouldn't just end up another member of the You're-Not-Shannon Ex-wives club?

"We've talked." Stephanie said, suddenly bringing Jenny out of her thoughts. "His ex-wives, we've talked, about him. We've talked about the nightmares, the way he'd cried out in his sleep for Shannon, for Kelly. But he never did that with me. It wasn't her name on his lips. It wasn't Shannon he asked for when he was the most vulnerable to the truth. It was you."

Well that wasn't point blank now wasn't it? How was she supposed to respond to that?

After their dinner break Tony, Ziva and Kate were walking back to the bullpen when Tony suddenly stopped, throwing out his arms to stop his companions as well.

"What the hell Tony?" Kate asked while she smacked his hand away from being a few inches to close to a sexual harassment complaint.

Tony jerked his head towards what had caught his eye; Jenny, coming down the stairs with Stephanie, and Mann standing by the plasma with Gibbs. "It's a train wreck. I want to look away but I can't. Ex-wife number three, current girlfriend, and baby mama. Oh this is gonna be good! You can't make this stuff up!"

Once it was pointed out to them Ziva and Kate couldn't help but watch as well. Gibbs stood there surrounded, helpless and on his own. And yet, was that a smirk on his lips? Was he enjoying this? Typical male ego.

"Is that the look?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes, that's the one." Jenny replied.

Mann smirked. "We all know that look well."

"Should we do something?" Kate whispered.

"Make popcorn?" Tony replied.

The standoff lasted a few more moments before someone called out, "DiNozzo."

"Yes boss, step-boss, I mean step-ma'am, I mean Ma'am, I mean Col. Mann, ma'am." Tony stammered until Kate threw her hand over his mouth to stop him.

Gibbs just shook his head. Hollis looked at the three agents oddly. Jenny was smirking.

"The wife DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"In interrogation Boss." DiNozzo answered once Kate moved her hand.

As they walked down the hall away from his agents and Jenny, Hollis said, "Well I guess I know whose side your people are on."

"There's no sides." Jethro replied.

"I had a feeling they didn't like me." Hollis said softly so her voice wouldn't carry.

"They like you fine." Jethro replied.

"I'm the evil step mother." Hollis told him with a look that said to just stop denying it.

Jenny sat behind her desk staring at the plasma on her wall but not paying attention to what was going on. Her mind kept going over what Stephanie had said, what Mike had said, Ducky, even Jethro himself had said it. They had all said in their own ways that Jethro loved her. That he had always loved her. If he loved her why hadn't he come after her all those years ago? He wasn't ready, she realized. He wasn't free to love her as completely as he could now. He wasn't carrying around his guilt, his loss, and his grief anymore. She could see it when she looked at him and Hollis, but she could also tell he was holding back from her, holding a part of him back from her. Was Stephanie right? Was Hollis just holding a place meant to be hers?

The knock on her door shook Jenny from her thoughts. "Come in."

"I wanted to let you know we closed the case." Hollis said as she stepped into the office. She filled Jenny in, telling her about Fred Rinnert and the off shore account, and about Abby slugging him in the nose.

Jenny beamed proudly when she heard about Abby. "That's my girl." Once Hollis finished reading her in she nodded. "Thank you Col. Mann. Well done."

"Thank you Director." Hollis replied.

Her place. Rule number five; you don't waste good. Rule number sixty-four; fight for what you love. Hollis had her hand on the doorknob when Jenny suddenly said, "I love him."

"I know." Hollis replied. "So do I."

"Then we have a problem." Jenny said, her voice low and cool.

Hollis turned to look at her. "Yes, it seems we do."

Jenny smirked. "Enjoy your evening Col. Mann."

Hollis Mann had been the kick in the ass Jenny needed. She'd been jealous of the woman for months without a clue as to what to do about it. Today it all changed. She wasn't sure if it was hearing that he whispered her name in his sleep, or if it was Tony's fumbled play on words, or that moment when the three of them were staring him down and his eyes were on her the whole time. All Jenny knew was that she loved him and that Leroy Jethro Gibbs belonged with her. Now, what was she going to do about that?


	12. Chapter 12

She sat at her desk in the study for hours after putting her daughter to bed, her mind churning with memories and emotions. She loved Jethro; she wanted to be with him. She wanted to feel his arms around her again. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body beside her. She wanted the lingering scent of his cologne in the air to remind her he'd been there. She wanted to see that smile again, the one that was meant for her and her alone. But how was she going to get any of that back, how was she going to get him back, without coming across as a real bitch? Jenny was really tired of playing the villain. She'd left him in Paris. She'd sent him a dear john letter. She'd kept him from his daughter. Now she was going to be the one to break him and his girlfriend up? It was different when she made Hollis the offer of joining NCIS after her retirement from the army. Giving her a job just to send her out to sea would have been far less bitchy before she admitted she wanted Jethro back. Now it would just come across a mean and spiteful. But she had to do something. She had to get back what she so stupidly let go.

Jenny sighed. There really wasn't anything she could actively do and not come out of this a bitch. The only option she had was to tell Jethro how she felt and let him do with it what he would. She had to believe that by telling him he would do what they both wanted. Pulling a sheet of her personal stationary out of the drawer Jenny picked up her pen.

A light rain was falling on the capital as Jenny's silver Chrysler 300 rolled to a stop in front of his house. She sat there for several long minutes just looking up at his door, gathering her nerve. All the lights were off in the house, but his car was in the drive. She knew he was home, and for a moment she wondered if he were home alone. A good five minutes passed before Jenny got out of the car and made her way up to his unlocked door. She didn't want to risk waking him so she slipped the envelope into the mail slot on his door, turned and went back to her car.

Of course the moment she'd pulled up Jethro woke up. His bedroom was at the front of the house and the sudden lights along with his sixth sense when it came to her had him throwing off the covers. He knew she was out there as he made his way down the stairs. He lifted an eyebrow when he heard the soft thud of the letter hitting the floor, and the soft creak of the brass over the mail slot. Picking up the letter, he opened the door to catch her but Jenny had already pulled off. He stood there until the red of her taillights were completely gone from sight and then went back inside. He walked into the living and sat on the couch; flicking on the lamp beside him, and let his eyes roam over his name written in her elegant handwriting on the envelope.

A lifetime ago another letter with her handwriting arrived and it changed his life. Would this one have the same effect? Slipping his thumb under the flap he opened it and pulled out the paper inside.

"Dear Jethro,

Rule # 62

Jen."

Gibbs laughed, his mind flashing back to Paris.

"Where are your rules about love on that list of yours Jethro?" Jenny asked as she stretched like a cat across the bed to grab the scrap of paper he held in his hand.

"Don't have any." Jethro replied. Since she'd freed his hand of the slip of paper he'd been writing on, he put it to good use, letting it roam over her warm skin, down her perfect spine, over her rear.

"Rule number forty-five." Jenny read. "Clean up the mess that you make." She chuckled as she rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her hand. "Feeling a little grumpy about cleaning up after Decker?" He grumbled and she chuckled. "So why no rules about love?"

"You can't put rules on love." Jethro replied as he shifted his body, forcing her on to her back and then hovering over her.

"If you could what would one of your rules be?" Jenny asked as she stared up into his warm blue eyes.

Jethro met her gaze for several long seconds before sayings, "Rule sixty-two, always remember to say I love you."

Sixty through sixty-nine where his rules on love and they were all written for Jenny. Sitting on his couch looking at that line, Jethro couldn't help but smile. Rule #62. She was telling him I love you. She was telling him that she wanted him. She was putting him in a really awkward situation. "Damnit Jen."

"McGee!" Kate roared as she stepped off the elevator.

"Sounds like someone else read your book, McGump." Tony said from his desk, his own copy of Deep Six open on his desk.

Ziva jumped from her chair and rushed over to Tony's desk just as Kate rounded the corner so she could get a better view. She'd finished the book and couldn't wait for everyone to start letting McGee know what he or she thought. She herself was less than pleased with Officer Lisa.

"McGee!" Kate said in the soft deadly way she had, that creepy gentle tone she normally used on Tony before inflecting harm. "Why am I a lesbian in your book?"

"Wait, you're a what?" Tony said snatching up his copy of McGee's book and flipping through it. He hadn't gotten that far yet!

"Kate." McGee said as the angry woman glared at him. "It's not you."

"Kathy Cobb?" Kate said as she leaned further into his personal space. "A former secret service agent turned naval special agent following the murder of her lover? That's not meant to be me?"

McGee swallowed hard. "It's fiction!"

"Tommy watched as Agent Cobb walked across the rain slick parking lot to the waiting unmarked sedan, the sound of her heels on the pavement drawing his focus to her shapely legs. His interest was peeked as a tall, slender woman with long, curly dark hair stepped out to meet her. He recognized the woman as a homicide detective, June something or another, something Italian sounding. All thoughts of remembering the detective's name were completely wiped from Tommy's mind as he watched the woman embrace and then kiss Agent Cobb deeply." Tony read aloud before looking up with a boyish smile. "Ok maybe I haven't given this book a fair chance."

"At least you are not sleeping with Tony." Ziva said while leaning against Tony's desk with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Agent Tommy, Officer Liza and Agent Cobb, now there's how you sell books, Probie." Tony said with a gleam in his eye that made Kate unsure of whom to hurt first.

"It's fiction!" McGee protested yet again, this time out of fear of physical harm.

"Leave 'em alone Kate." Gibbs said as he walked into the bullpen. "You can kill him on your own time. We got a dead petty officer down at the high school. Kate, DiNozzo with me. McGee," He glared at the younger man. "In the truck with Ziva."

That got a satisfying smirk from the women and a loud gulp from McGee. Everyone moved but Tony, who was still reading, causing Gibbs to smack him in the back of the head. "Ow, yes Boss, moving Boss." As they rode down in the elevator, Gibbs would meet them at the car, Tony said, "Must be trouble in paradise. He's grumpier than normal."

"I do not see what he sees in her." Ziva commented. "She does not seem to be his type."

"Why? Because she's not a redhead?" Tony asked.

"I was not refereeing to a physical type." Ziva replied.

"Speaking of type," Kate cut in. "Whatever happened to the redhead in the convertible?"

Gibbs had never really been all that good with emotions. He needed time to work things out in his head, so he figured he'd simply avoided both Hollis and Jenny until he knew what to do, or at least that was the plan. No one told Jenny the plan. He was on his way down to inform Ducky of the body when he found himself face to face with her in the elevator.

"Good morning Agent Gibbs." Jenny greeted with a smile.

"Director." Gibbs replied while debated on wither or not to step into the small-enclosed box with the redhead.

"From your hesitation to join me I take it you got my letter." Jenny said as she looked into his eyes with a soft smirk. "Are you afraid to be alone with me now Jethro?"

Gibbs swallowed against a dry throat as he stepped into the elevator, taking her words as a challenge. "Got the letter. Not afraid. It's complicated."

"I understand." Jenny said sweetly just before flipping the switch that made the elevator stop.

"Jen." Gibbs said as he looked into her eyes.

She took a step closer to him, smiling. "I know it's complicated Jethro. I simply wanted you to know that I agree with you. Our time isn't over. It's barely started. Paris, Paris was just the beginning."

He could feel her breath brush against his lips as she spoke and on reflex his hands moved up to rest on her hips. She bit her lip and smiled. "Jen." She lingered for a moment, a breath of space between their bodies, before she pulled away from him. He watched as she flipped the switch again. He felt the elevator jerk back to life in the pit of his stomach and he had to bit back a groan.

For the rest of the week he would catch her eye and she would give him that smile, the one he remembered so vividly from Paris, from London, from Serbia. That smile that said I want you Jethro, the one that said you're mine. She kept standing a little close to him, coming down to check on the team's progress a little more often. She was showing him that she was in this, that she wanted her rightful place as his partner, the co-head of his family. She showed him that she got it, that she understood, and for the first time he really took in how much she'd changed, how much she'd grown.

The answer really was simple because it all boiled down to just one thing. He loved Jenny. He truly loved her, he loved her in a way he'd only ever loved one other person, Shannon. So what was stopping him? Why was he still using Hollis as an excuse? He was scared. He would crumble if he lost Jenny and Kennedy the way he'd lost Shannon and Kelly. He knew he couldn't come back from that again.

"You can't let fear keep you from happiness Jethro." Ducky told him as they walked his mother's corgis. "I have known you and Jennifer for quite some time now and the only thing I have to say on the matter is, get on with it boy! Do what you need to do to be with the only woman who will ever truly make you happy!"

Ducky was right. Jenny was the only one who could make him happy.

He took the day off and spent it finishing the plumbing and other projects he'd started at Hollis' apartment. Words weren't Jethro's thing, actions were.

"You're not even going to give me a chance to fight?" Hollis asked when she came home to find him and the finished work.

"Hollis." Jethro said but she stopped him.

"The moment she said it I knew I'd lost." Hollis said, hurt shinning in her eyes. "But I still would have fought. You're worth the fight Jethro."

"I care about you." He said softly.

She just smiled sadly and shook her head. "But you've been in love with her since the moment her met her."

"Yeah." He said with a nod of his head.

The next morning Jethro made his way to his daughter's room to wake her up early. It wasn't an easy task, the child was not a morning person, but he had plans for them. He had a surprise he couldn't wait to share. "Come on, up and at 'em." He said as he bounced the mattress, rattling Kennedy awake. "Breakfast in fifteen. Get showered and dressed."

Kennedy learned quickly that if she didn't get up on her own her dad would think of a clever way to make her get up. Her shin throbbed at the memory of falling out of bed after he'd blown an air horn, and her body shivered at the memory of ice water. "I'm up, I'm up, geesh."

She hadn't been sure what to expect when her father led her out of the house after finishing breakfast but what she was seeing hadn't even been her on her list. The boat, his boat, was sitting on a trailer that was hitched to a truck. Kennedy blinked. "Is that?"

"Yeap." Gibbs said proudly.

"It was in the basement." She said as she walked around it, sure enough Kelly was painted beautifully on the back of it. "Now it's out here." She looked up at him and blinked. Then suddenly she went back inside.

Gibbs laughed hard as he listened to his daughter run to the basement and than back up stairs again. "Ready to try her out?"

"How did you…" Kennedy asked, completely dumbfounded. "Last night it was… And now it's…" She narrowed her eyes at him again. "Are you magic? Abby thinks your magic and you just got the boat out of the basement when there's no way you could have gotten it out of the basement."

"I needed the room." Gibbs said as he ushered his still stunned daughter into the cab of the pick up.

"For what?" Kennedy asked.

Gibbs smirked, "Need a new bedroom set for my room. I'm getting to damn old to sleep on that beat up old couch."

He hadn't told her that he'd broken things off with Hollis, but she'd had a feeling. Sitting behind her desk reading the Stars and Strips, Jenny couldn't keep the smug look off her face. There really hadn't been a problem after all, and no need for too much of a fight. Hollis Mann never stood a chance once Jenny became an active part in all this. Still, she would bide her time, let him come to her. She knew he needed time to get over his break up, she'd give it to him, because she had no doubt that they were finally on the right track. He'd sailed his boat, and she knew what that meant. Kennedy had been so touched that her dad shared that first sail with her, and that meant the world to Jen. Jethro was ready, and she knew he would make the next move.

"Damnit." Jenny grumbled as she hung up her phone.

Kate looked over her shoulder at the older woman who was sitting in the front row of seats in MTAC. "Is there something wrong, Director?"

"The Marine Corp. Ball is tonight and my nanny's in the ER with kidney stones." Jenny replied as she took her glasses off so she could pinch the bridge of her nose.

"I can stay with Kennedy." Kate offered as she walked over and took a seat beside Jenny.

"Kate I couldn't ask…" Jenny started but Kate cut her off.

"You're not asking." Kate said with a smile. "I'm offering. I don't have anything to do tonight, and we've been so busy lately I haven't had the chance to hang out with Kennedy. It'll be fun."

Jenny smiled a huge smile at the younger woman. "She'd love it if you came over. Thank you, Kate."

That evening Kennedy was lying on her mom's bed watching Jenny get dressed. To her, Jenny was the most beautiful woman in the world and that showed in the girl's smile and the bright light of pride in her eyes. She watched as Jenny slipped into a beautiful blue evening gown after finishing her make-up. "Mom, how come you did your make-up before putting your dress on?"

"Because I don't want to get powder on the dress." Jenny answered while she finished doing her hair.

Made sense so Kennedy nodded. Then she asked, "How come you're going with Uncle Duck?"

"Well, it's kind of become a tradition for Ducky to escort me." Jenny replied while dabbing on a little perfume. She chuckled softly when Kennedy suddenly appeared at her side. The girl loved the smell of the very expensive perfume and Jenny couldn't help but smile as she dabbed a little behind her daughter's ears. "Uncle Ducky escorted me to the very first Marine Ball I went to as Director of NCIS. We've gone together every year since."

"Is it more fun when you go with Uncle Duck or by yourself?" Kennedy asked.

Jenny chuckled. "Everything is more fun with Uncle Ducky."

"At least Uncle Duck is better then Opie." Kennedy mused as she fell back onto the bed. She was refereeing to the only boyfriend she could remember her mother having.

"His name wasn't Opie." Jenny scolded softly. "It was Herman."

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Redheads shouldn't date other redheads. It scares people when gingers mate cause then you end up with more gingers."

"You need to stop watching South Park." Jenny said with a shake of her head. "And your father's hair isn't red and yet you came out a redhead."

"His DNA didn't feel like fighting with yours." Kennedy replied just as the doorbell rang downstairs. "Kate's here!"

"Kennedy!" Jenny called after her daughter. "Check before you open the door!"

The girl rolled her eyes as she called through the heavy wooden door. "Katie?"

"Yes." Kate's voice replied.

"Are you sure it's you?" Kennedy asked.

Kate laughed. "I'm fairly sure it's me."

Kennedy pulled the door open and smiled. "I had to check, just in case it was someone crazy like that funny little man from Ohio or Bill O'Reilly." Once Kate was inside Kennedy yelled up the stairs, "It's Kate!" Then she grabbed Kate by the hand and pulled her into the living room.

Twenty minutes later when the bell rang again Jenny called down, "Girls, can you get that? I'll be down in a moment!"

"Got it." Kate called back while Kennedy went to pull open the door. They were expecting Ducky so when the open door reviled Gibbs in his Marine dress uniform, both Kennedy's and Kate's jaws dropped.

"Dad?" Kennedy sputtered.

"Gibbs?" Kate said at the same time.

Gibbs smirked. "You're catching flies girls."

"Wow." Kennedy said in awe. She'd never seen her father in uniform before. She'd seen pictures of him in fatigues and the daily uniform, but never in his dress blues. She took him in from super shiny shoes to freshly cut hair, the metals on his chest to the white belt around his waist, and hat now tucked under his arm. She let her gaze roam over the red piping on his jacket, the high collar, and the metals on his chest. He looked sharp, he looked so tall and proud, and Kennedy couldn't help but think her dad was a hero and here was her proof. "Dad, you're so handsome!"

"Do you think your mother will think so?" Gibbs asked as he smiled down at his awestruck daughter while ruffling her hair with the hand not holding his white gloves.

"Her mother thinks she's never seen you look more handsome." Jenny said softly from the top of the stairs, her voice a low, soft breath of words as she stood there astounded by the sight of him.

Jen was in a dark blue gown that hugged her curves and flowed around her legs like a waterfall. It was strapless but she had a matching shawl over her shoulders. It made her eyes a dark sapphire, and her pinned up hair a striking shade of red. The sight of her took his breath away. "Wow Jen. You look amazing."

Jenny had the biggest smile on her face as she carefully made her way down the stairs in her dress. "Thank you Jethro."

He held out his hand to her and smiled when she took it.

"What happened to Ducky?" She asked him, their gaze meeting for the first time.

"Couldn't make it." Jethro said with a smirk that said he was the reason Ducky couldn't make it. "Do you mind?"

"Of course I don't mind." Jenny replied softly. In that moment while they looked into each other's eyes they were the only two people in the world. They didn't even notice the pictures that were being taken. Once they did realize Jenny chuckled. She turned to give her daughter a hug and kiss. "Be good."

"I'm always good for Kate." Kennedy replied. "It's DiNozzo I give a hard time."

"As it should be." Gibbs teased as he took his turn kissing his daughter, and then flashing Kate a warm fatherly smile. "Have fun girls."

Kate couldn't keep the smile off her face as she said, "You two have a good night."

The moment the door closed behind them Kennedy and Kate looked at each other with bright eyes. "I'll call Abby!" Kate said.

"I'll call Ziva!" Kennedy giggled.

In the limo Jenny was chuckling. "I'm going to have a house full of agents when I get home." When Jethro raised his brow in question she explained, "Right now our daughter and Caitlin are calling the other two, Abby will then call McGee, and Ziva will call Tony. They'll all be waiting in my living room to caught sight of us for themselves. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Ducky were there."

Jethro chuckled and then took a chance by saying, "So maybe you don't go home tonight."

Jenny's sparkling blue eyes lit up but she was still careful with her words. "Does this mean you're not just escorting me to the ball?"

"What do you think?" Jethro asked.

"What I know," She replied as she looked into his eyes. "Is that I love you, Jethro. What I think, is that we should take this slow. I want to do it right, Jethro. I want us to get it right this time. For us, and because it's not just us anymore, we have to think about Kennedy too, so we have to be careful."

Jethro nodded his agreement. "We'll make this work Jen. We'll bend the world around us if we have too. But we'll make it work."

"It won't be easy." Jenny warned him. "Being parents and working together is one thing. Being lovers and working together is a different story."

"We'll figure it out." He promised.

And she knew they would because she could see it in his eyes. Leaning in for the first time in far to long, Jenny kissed him and he pulled her close.

It was early the next morning when he drove her home. As they quietly made their way into the brownstone Jenny had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle her laugh. Spread out on her living room floor in a nest of blankets and pillows were their girls, Kennedy and Abby in the middle, with Kate and Ziva on either side, all of them sound asleep.

"Jen." Jethro said softly after going to hang her dress in the study. "There's a DiNozzo on your couch, and a McGee on the floor."

She pointed to the pile of girls on her floor. "I told you."


	13. Chapter 13

It was early and there was hardly anyone in the office when the elevator opened. Kate stepped off and looked around. Tony was just coming from the stairs and Ziva was at her desk. The moment the three of them saw each other they rushed to meet up. After what happened with his published book when they heard McGee was working on a squeal they all demanded to see it. Standing in front of the bullpen they held up the mass of papers and in unison said, "Page one hundred sixty-four!"

"Agency Chief Jessica Herdsman and Army officer Holly Minn get into cat fight ala Krystle Carrington and Alexis Colby compete with a dip in the reflecting pool in front of Lincoln memorial." Tony said with a smirk. "They literally get into a physical catflight over Tibbs."

"Is he crazy?" Kate asked with a shake of her head. "He has to be crazy. Not only is he writing the Director into his book he's writing about Gibbs' love life. They're going to kill him."

"Not if I kill him first." Ziva said feeling offended on her friend's behalf. "I do not like the implications regarding Herdsman and Liza's time as partners."

"At least he wasn't stupid enough to write the Giblet into his story." Tony said but then the girls gave him a look. "He wrote the Giblet in?"

"She's a boy but yeah she's in it." Kate said. "Carter Jacob Tibbs."

Tony shook his head. "Probie has lost his mind." He paused a moment and then asked, "Do you think we should be asking for a cut? He made a lot of damn money with that first book."

School was closed and her nanny was at an appointment, so Kennedy was spending the day at NCIS. Her mom was in MTAC, her dad and his team were working on a case, so Kennedy decided to take a walk. Of course she wasn't allowed to wander around the Navy Yard alone so she had a probie with her. She used what little power she had over the probie as the Director's kid to convince the poor young man to let her walk to her dad's coffee shop. She was waiting on her white chocolate cocoa when a man approached her. He was older, somewhere between her dad and Ducky, tall, his hair more grey then dark. He had on an expensive suit, a camel hair coat, and a silk scarf that probably cost as much as her dad made in a year.

The man began speaking to her in French, asking about the book she had with her. The book was in French, which is why she didn't think much of him speaking to her without saying a word of English. He was polite, and charming. He told her that when she was younger his own daughter had read the same book. He complimented her on her French, and Kennedy explained that she had been born in Paris. When her cocoa was served up along with the coffees she'd order for her parents, she and the man said their goodbyes.

"Jethro!" Jenny's voice rang out in a bellow that made people jump. She hurried down the stairs, still wearing her MTAC headset. "Where's Kennedy?"

"She went for a walk." Gibbs answered as he got to his feet as Jenny stormed her way over to him. "Sent Fillmore with her. Why?"

Jenny shoved her cell phone at him. On the screen was a picture of Kennedy at Gibbs' coffee shop talking to René Benoit.

He didn't say a word he pulled open his draw and grabbed his gun and badge. "David!" He barked as he headed for the elevator. "With me!" Just as the two armed agents made it to the elevator it dinged and the doors opened. Some of the sudden tension Gibbs felt melted away when he saw Kennedy inside smiling at him.

"Hi Dad!" She jerked her thumb back at Fillmore as she stepped off the elevator. "I brought you coffee."

Gibbs grabbed the probie by the jacket lapels and threw up against the wall. "Who the hell told you that you could take her off this base?"

Fillmore just sputtered as he tried not to spill the coffees on Gibbs.

"Dad." Kennedy said looking more then a little startled.

Gibbs turned to look at his daughter without letting go of Fillmore. "Your mother's office! Now! Move!"

Kennedy looked between her dad and her mom, looking very confused. This wasn't the first time she'd gone off to the coffee shop, though she normally went with someone from the team. She and Abby were known to go all over the place while they were together, and most of the time they just went, never telling either of her parents where they were going. She didn't understand what was going on so she looked at her mom for an answer.

"Go." Jenny said sharply while pointing to the stairs. With Kennedy safe all her fear had morphed into anger and uncertainty.

Confused and annoyed blue eyes looked between her parents before Kennedy stormed off.

Gibbs spent a good ten minutes yelling at Fillmore about taking Kennedy off base and letting someone he didn't know approach her. He asked a couple of questions about what Kennedy and man talked about and Fillmore said he didn't know because they were speaking French. When he was finished ripping the poor agent's head off he snatched one of the coffees from the tray and took a drink. He made a face and thrust the cup at Jenny while grabbing the other one. "That one's yours. It has stuff in it."

"It's called cream and sugar Jethro." Jenny said as she followed him to the stairs.

"It's crap." Gibbs replied curtly.

Kennedy was sitting on the couch in her mother's office when her parents walked in. "All we did was walk to the coffee shop."

Gibbs walked over and showed Kennedy the picture on Jenny's phone. "What did this man say to you?"

"What?" Kennedy replied as she looked at the picture and than up at her parents. "Who took that?"

"What did he say?" Gibbs snapped.

Kennedy's eyes narrowed. "Ask me without interrogating me."

Before Jethro could say anything Jenny sat beside their daughter. Clearly she'd have to be the calm parent this time and fight the urge to shake their child. She kept her voice calm, soothing, but firm. Kennedy knew this tone well. "The man in the picture, Kennedy, the one who talked to you in the coffee shop. What did he say to you?"

"I don't know, nothing much." She answered, looking confused and uneasy because of how her parents were acting. "He noticed the book I had with me. He said that he was in town visiting his daughter and that she use to read the same books when she was a child. He asked if I were reading it for school or fun, I told him for fun."

"Did he tell you who he was?" Gibbs asked.

Kennedy shook her head. "No."

Gibbs tried to relax but he couldn't. His mind was racing for ideas, trying to figure out what Benoit was up to. "What else did he say?"

Kennedy thought about it a moment and replied, "He said I spoke French very well for an American. I told him I was born in Paris and that I spent a lot of time growing up there."

"And that's it?" Gibbs asked. "He didn't say anything else? He didn't ask about your mother? Or DiNozzo? He didn't make an off handed comment about NCIS or anything?"

"No." Kennedy replied. "It was only a couple of minutes, while I was waiting on my order." She looked between her parents again before asking, "What's going on? Why would he ask about Mom?"

Gibbs and Jenny shared a look before Gibbs said, "You do not leave this base unless it's with me or your mother or a member of my team. Clear?" Kennedy nodded. "From now on you tell one of us before you do go off base with someone else. Clear?" Kennedy nodded again. "Stay here, do not leave this office."

"What's going on?" Kennedy asked but Gibbs was already heading for the door. Turning to her mother she asked, "Mom?"

Jenny held her little girl's face in her hands. She needed the contact to wash away the flash of fear that had ripped through her. "I'll explain later, Kennedy. Just do as your father says. Stay here."

Kennedy looked worried now, and a little frightened. Her parents didn't act like this often, and her dad certainly hadn't ever made her feel as if he were interrogating her. "Ok."

"Good girl." Jenny said before kissing Kennedy's forehead and then headed out to join Jethro and the team. He was waiting for her just outside the outer door of her office. "You're going to need to talk to her later." She told him. "You didn't need to scare her."

Gibbs grumbled as they made their way down to the bullpen.

"What's going on Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs tossed Jenny's phone at McGee. "Put the last picture text on the screen, and find out where the hell it came from."

"La Grenouille made contact with Kennedy at the coffee shop." Jenny explained. "He didn't tell her who he was, but he made damn sure I knew it happened. He wants me to know he's here."

"Why involve Kennedy again?" Kate asked as they all stared at the picture.

"To rattle my cage." Jenny answered, her words dripping with venom.

There wasn't much they could do, Benoit hadn't done anything, but Gibbs made sure the team was on alert. Jenny took Tony and Kate aside to speak with them. She needed to know if there was a possibility that Tony's cover had been compromised. They had been so methodical about putting together his cover story, his background, she had personally made sure that it would stand up to the kind of checking Benoit would put him through. "You need to find out if your cover has been blown, DiNozzo. If there's even the slightest chance it has then you need to abort the op." She saw something in the young man's eyes that made her add, "It's an order Tony."

Tony nodded. "Yes Director."

"Kate, watch his back." Jenny ordered.

Kate nodded. When they were alone in the elevator Kate looked over at Tony and sighed. "Oh Tony. You really did fall for her didn't you?" She made him took at her and seeing the pain in his eyes hurt. "You weren't supposed to really fall in love."

"Guess I just suck at being undercover." Tony replied.

Kate was his out. Tony had mentioned to Jeanne that he'd been in love once before, that they'd nearly married, and their break up had been hard on him. That ex was meant to be Kate. She'd been his partner on this, his silent shadow watching his back. When it was time for him to get out he was suppose to tell Jeanne he was going back to his ex. It all sounded so easy while they were hashing all of this out, but in practice it was tearing him up inside.

When Gibbs walked into Jenny's office he walked over to where Kennedy was sitting on the couch and sat beside her. He was a lot calmer now so he was ready to talk to her rather then yell. She didn't say a word; she simply glared at him in a way that made him want to smirk. "The man who spoke to you at the coffee shop, his name is René Benoit."

The name sent a cold chill down Kennedy's spin. "The name I heard Ari say, it was René."

"He's a bad guy your mother has been trying to catch for years." Gibbs explained with a nod. "It's become a kind of game between them. He was using you to get to her." He put his arm around Kennedy and pulled her close. "I don't want you to worry or get to scared. We got this. I promise. He isn't going to hurt you or your mom."

Kennedy snuggled into her dad's arms. It was like one of her nightmares had come to life. The thought that this man might do something to her, or to her mother, or someone else she loved made her tremble. Gibbs tightened his hold on her, and that helped, but she was scared.

He watched her with a curious gaze. Jenny always had a cup of tea in the evening, taking it up to bed with her, but it was to early for that now and she never used a travel mug. Jethro watched as Jenny pulled a tin of loose-leaf tea from her cabinet and his interest spiked. It was a rather strong blend, not one Jenny herself drank often, but he knew someone who did. He watched Jenny as she prepared the tea as if she'd done it a thousand times before, and now that he thought about it, she probably had. When she was finished she screwed on the top of the travel mug, smiled sweetly at him as they shared a lingering look, and then he watched her slip out the backdoor. Getting up from where he'd been sitting at the table he moved to the front of the house to peek out the window.

Jenny silently made her way to the passenger side of the dark sedan, making sure to remain unseen until she pulled the door open. "Your doors should be locked."

Ziva actually jumped. "Jen!" She scolded lightly as she took her hand off the grip of her weapon.

The redhead slipped into the seat with a smirk. "Just had to find out if I could still do that." She told the younger woman as she handed over the tea. "Good to know I can."

Warm brown eyes glared softly. "That was not funny. I could have shot you."

"You're reflexes are better then that." Jenny pointed out. There was a moment of silence between them as Ziva sipped her tea. When the brief flare of tension passed Jenny asked, "Would it do any good for me to tell you to go home?"

Ziva shook her head. "No. I would not listen."

"Even if I made it an order?" Jenny asked.

"There is a threat to yours and Kennedy's safety." Ziva said firmly. Jenny and Kennedy were her family. Long before NCIS the two had taken Ziva in, had made her feel wanted, welcomed, and loved. Not since her mother and sister had Ziva felt so cared for, so cherished, and she would do whatever she had to do to keep them safe.

Jenny smiled knowingly. She understood why Ziva was sitting in a dark unmarked car watching the house. The two had been there for each other, saved each other's lives on more than one occasion, and Ziva was as much family to Jenny as Jenny was to her. "You don't have to sit out here all night."

"Gibbs is inside." Ziva said after sipping her tea, smiling just slightly over it being just how she liked it. "I will maintain the perimeter."

"You have work in the morning Ziva." Jenny pointed out, her tone taking on a motherly quality. "You can't sit out here in the cold, awake all night, and then come in to work."

"McGee and Kate will be here in six hours to relieve me." Ziva replied.

That warmed Jenney's heart. It meant a lot to her to know she'd been accepted into Gibbs' little inner circle. She felt blessed to be a part of this odd little family they'd created. She knew that some people, her assistant director for example, didn't like mixing personal and professional. She took some flack from Assistant Director Vance for the hands on; up close and personal approach she'd taken with her administration, but he couldn't argue with her success rate. She was the SecNav's golden girl and everyone knew it. She fought hard for her agency and the branches of the military they represented and everyone on the hill knew it. Yes, she had personal ties to several agents. Yes, she was having a very personal relationship with one of her lead agents, but no one that mattered had an issued with that because what mattered most to them was that Jen Shepard was damn good at her job.

"There's no telling how long this, whatever this is, will go on Ziva." Jenny said softly. "You know better then anyone that this thing with Benoit has been going on for years."

"Something does not feel right." Ziva admitted softly. "I can not explain."

Jenny smirked. "Your gut's telling you something's going to happen?"

Ziva was a little uncomfortable with the idea but she nodded. "Yes."

"See," Jenny beamed. "I knew bringing you in to learn from Jethro was the right thing to do."

Ziva's gut had been right. Chatter was that there had been an attempt on La Grenouille's life. That he had slipped out of Europe with only his two most trusted bodyguards and no one else. Jethro had thrown her a quick look after hearing the news. Her silent reply was that she had nothing to do with it. Gibbs believed her and started discretely looking into who was involved.

"No, I don't think your school would be impressed if you brought in a real life zombie virus if Abby could get her hands on one." Jenny said as she and Kennedy walked into their home several days after the coffee shop incident. "You're going to have to think of a more creative and safe way of doing your science project on flesh eating viruses if that's what you're set on doing."

Kennedy frowned. "Aww, that would have been so cool."

"Hello Jennifer." A deep voice said from the doorway of Jen's study. "I hope you do not mind that I have stopped by." René Benoit smiled at Jenny before turning to his gaze to Kennedy. "Hello Kennedy. It is very nice to see you again."

The moment she heard his voice Jenny pulled Kennedy close with one arm while the other slowly made its way to gun at the small of her back. "What do you want?"

"Simply to talk." Benoit replied. "I mean neither of you any harm."

Jenny's fingers tightened around the grip of her gun. "Kennedy, go upstairs. Stay in your room until I come get you."

"Mom?" Kennedy questioned, looking up into her mother eyes.

"It's ok baby." Jenny said softly. "Just do as I say."

It was a struggle. Kennedy didn't want to leave her mother alone with this man, but the look her mother was giving her told her to listen and not to worry. Finally she nodded. She glanced over at Benoit once more and then headed upstairs.

Jenny eased her hand away from her gun, leaving it where it was hidden. She stood tall, looked at the man across the room from her with all the confidence in the world, and then strolled right past him and into the study. "Can I get you a drink?"

"No, thank you." Benoit replied. "I think it would be better to get down to business."

"And what business would that be?" Jenny asked while pouring herself a glass of bourbon.

"I wish to make a deal." Benoit said, his voice smooth and charming as he took a seat in one of the leather chairs.

"What kind of deal?" Jenny asked as she moved to sit behind her desk.

"I want protection." He told her.

Jenny laughed softly. "You want protection from me?"

"You are the only one I can trust." He replied.

Years of undercover work kept Jenny from showing her surprise. "Shouldn't you be talking to your handler about this? He should be the one you trust, not me." She leaned forward just each to reach for her SIG, pulling it, and making a show of letting him know what she was doing.

"You will not shoot me Jennifer." Benoit said confidently. "For two very good reasons. One, you would not want to frighten your child who would surely hear the gun shot and come running to make sure you were alright. And two, if you shot me you will never know what really happened to your father."

Jenny aimed the SIG right between the man's eyes. "You killed my father." She said, her voice deathly calm. "So your second reason is moot. You're first has merit. I wouldn't want Kennedy to hear the gun shot. So it's good thing Officer David's weapon has a silencer on it."

He felt the sudden coldness of the silencer against his temple. His eyes flickered to the side and widened in surprise. He hadn't heard the other woman approach, hadn't even felt her presence in the room. When he looked back at Jenny there was a radiant smirk on her lips. "I see you still have your pet Mossad around. Hello Officer David."

Ziva said nothing.

"I did not kill your father Jennifer." Benoit said calmly, as if he didn't have a gun to his head. "I respected Jasper. He was a good man. To good to be in the line of work he was in. He was a man of principals and morals. That is what got him killed."

Anger flashed in Jenny's eyes. "Are you about to tell me the bull story about him committing suicide after taking a bride?"

"I offered him that bribe." Benoit began.

"But he wouldn't take it." Gibbs said from the doorway. "He wouldn't play by their rules."

"Who?" Jenny asked, startled by her lover's sudden presence. She'd been so focused on Benoit she hadn't noticed him the way she'd noticed Ziva.

"Michael Trent." Gibbs answered. "Benoit's original CIA handler and Trent Kort's father."

Jenny looked dumbstruck.

"Agent Gibbs." Benoit said calmly. "Would you mind asking your paramour and her little pet to put down their weapons? I do not see why this can't be a civilized conversation."

"No, I think I'll let them continue pointing their guns at you." Gibbs replied as he moved further into the room. "I might have considered asking them to stop if you hadn't involved our daughter in your game, but you did, and I'm kind of liking the idea of taking Jen and Kennedy out for a while and giving you some alone time with Officer David."

Ziva smirked. "I am most favorable to that idea myself."

"So, here are your options." Gibbs said as he sat on the edge of Jen's desk and glared down at the man who'd sent a terrorist to kidnap his little girl. "You can either walk out of here and take your chances, knowing that someone is out to kill you so they can replace you within your own organization. We can leave you here alone with Officer David, who's very good at what she does, and cleaning up after herself. Or, and this is the choice I'd make if I were you. You corporate with us and someone I trust in the FBI and give us what we need to prove Trent Kort is a rouge agent, and that his father killed Jasper Shepard because he wouldn't turn dirty."

Several minutes of silence passed. The tension in the room was so high it was hard to breathe. Finally Benoit said, "You have someone in the FBI you trust?"

Gibbs nodded, so did Jenny because she knew he meant Fornell.

"I have a condition." Benoit said. "My sons can take care of themselves but by daughter is vulnerable. If you promise to protect Jeanne than I will agree to tell you what I know."

Anger flashed in Gibbs' eyes. "Why should I give a damn about your daughter when you showed no concern or respect for mine?"

"Involving your daughter was not my idea." Benoit said with a huff. "Who do you think told Ari Haswari to come to me?"

"Kort." Gibbs growled the name.

Benoit nodded.

It stung like hell to do it but Jenny stepped in and said, "Consider it done. You give us Kort and we'll make sure Jeanne is safe."

"You're Agent DiNozzo will be relieved." Benoit said pointedly. "I do believe he actually cared for Jeanne." Jenny gave him a look that told him she was surprise he knew. "I used your daughter you used mine."

Gibbs called Fornell and simply told him to come to Jen's. When Tobias arrived he was more then shocked to find La Grenouille sitting in Director Shepard's study. They worked things out concerning La Grenouille's surrender, and the protection of his daughter. Gibbs and Fornell then moved him to a safe house.

"Are you all right, Jen?" Ziva asked once the men were gone. She put her arm around her friend's shoulders and could feel Jen trembling.

Jenny nodded. "All those years spent hating him. All that time spent on revenge. Now that it's all said and done, now that I know the truth and it's almost over, I just feel cold inside."

Ziva nodded. "You do not notice the icy cold of the ghosts that haunt you until they are gone."

Ziva refused to leave but at least she was inside where it was warm and not hidden away in the unmarked car she'd spent the last few nights in. Jenny was grateful Ziva had been around. She knew that she would have shot Benoit before Gibbs arrived with his sudden bombshell. They always did have a way of keeping each other calm in the most stressful of situations. Once she was feeling a little calmer, Jenny went upstairs to Kennedy. She reassured her little girl that everything was fine and that they were safe. It all took a toll on the girl though. Jenny wasn't surprised that for the next several days she woke up with her daughter snuggled between her and Jethro.

Benoit kept his word. He told the truth about Jasper Shepard and turned over everything he knew about Kort. The CIA couldn't bury it, Benoit was a smart man, and it would just make then agency look bad if they tried to hide things. After another long day of testimony Gibbs and Fornell were on hand as Benoit was escorted from the federal court building to the SUV that would take him to the safe house. The sniper in Gibbs heard the shot seconds before it hit Benoit in the back of his head, spraying his FBI security detail and the SUV with blood and brain matter. He drew his gun, as did Fornell. The second shot was different. Gibbs was glad he'd planned ahead. Everyone around them watched in professional but stunned silence as Trent Kort's body fell from it's hiding place. His sniper rifle still hot in his hands.

"You posted a sniper?" Fornell asked as he looked up at Gibbs.

Gibbs smirked. "Nope." His blue eyes glanced up. "I posted a Ziva."

Fornell was now smirking as well. "If I didn't know better I'd say you wanted this to happen."

"But you do know better don't you Tobias?" Gibbs asked.

"You're risking a lot for her Jethro." Fornell said knowingly.

"Yeap." Jethro replied. "She's worth it and more."

Fornell nodded. "Don't screw it up again, Jethro. One of us has to get it right. I really don't want you to be the one I grow old with."


	14. Chapter 14

It was silly but Jenny was feeling jealous. The case Jethro's team was working took them to Stillwater Pennsylvania, Jethro's hometown. They'd gotten to meet Jackson Gibbs, Jethro's father. Jethro didn't mention the man often. To be honest Jenny thought he was dead. It was killing her not being there to meet him, but she had an agency to run. As she worked she wondered if Jackson knew about Kennedy and what he would think of her. She wondered what he was like, the man who'd raised her Jethro. He had to be a strong man, a kind man, but then again there had to be a reason Jethro hardly ever talked about him. What had happened between father and son that drove Jethro away like that?

When Cynthia came in with more files that needed Jenny's attention Jenny sighed. "Any word from Agent Gibbs or his team?"

"No Ma'am." Cynthia replied as she set the folders on Jenny's desk.

Jenny sighed. "Get me David or Todd on the phone."

"Yes Director." Cynthia said before leaving the office.

Both Ziva and Kate were on the line when Jenny picked up her phone. The three women spent nearly ten minutes talking about Jackson and Gibbs until Gibbs bellowed in the background. All the call did was make Jenny want to meet this man even more.

Being back in Stillwater was strange for Gibbs. Over the course of the case he and his father had reconnected, but Gibbs realized more then ever that this place wasn't home anymore and it hadn't been for a long time. The only thing the old town had that he had any interest in was his father. They had a long way to go, him and Jack, but Jethro was willing to give it a try. Having Jenny back in his life, having Kennedy, had taught him that it was important to have people in your life that you loved, and who loved you in return. Both men were far to old school to say it, but they could show it. In fact Jackson had shown him with the car. Now it was his turn.

They were standing outside Jackson's store. Gibbs and his team were getting ready to head back to D.C. Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, Gibbs pulled out a picture. He looked at it and smiled a little before handing it to his father. It was a picture of Kennedy standing in front of the harbor with the biggest smile on her face. "That's your granddaughter."

Jackson took the picture and looked it over. It was hard to miss his son's eyes staring back at him from that bright face. Looking up at Jethro he asked, "Granddaughter?"

"Yeah." Gibbs replied. "It's a long story."

"I hope you'll tell it to me sometime." The old man said as he looked down at the picture again. What he could see of Jethro in the girl reminded him of his beloved Ann. "What's her name?"

"Kennedy Emerson." Gibbs said proudly.

Jackson beamed. "That's a good name. Kennedy Emerson Gibbs."

"Gibbs-Shepard." Gibbs corrected which got him a look from his father that made his chuckle. "Like I said, it's a long story." He thought about it for a moment and then said. "Why don't you come up to D.C. soon and I'll tell you about it. You can meet your granddaughter and Jen."

"Jen?" Jackson asked with a smirk. "She the girl's mother?"

Gibbs nodded. "I think you'll like her."

Jenny sat with a soft smile on her lips as she watched Kennedy think about her next move. They were sitting in the study playing a game of chess and Kennedy had the tip of her tongue pinned between her front teeth as she glared thoughtfully at the old wooden chessboard. When she was Kennedy's age Jenny had done this exact thing with her father. Chess, Risk, Backgammon, Stratego, strategy games, games that taught her how to think, how to bluff, and how plan, war games. Jenny was following in her father's footsteps in a way. She played these kinds of game with Kennedy, both as a way of sharing her father with her daughter, and to teach Kennedy the same things she'd learned. But Jenny wasn't her father, so she didn't hold back in the ways he had. She played video games with Kennedy, she went out and played basketball and soccer with her, and they went to silly places like the Painted Penguin just for the fun of it. Jenny enjoyed her daughter, she wasn't sure if her father ever really let himself relax enough to do that.

"Sometime before I retire would be nice, Kenz." Jenny teased.

Kennedy gave her mother her best Gibbs glare and then took another full minute before moving her Knight.

Jenny's smile brightened proudly. "Nice move baby." She said as she carefully thought out her next move before making it. "Check."

"Shoot." Kennedy replied as she tried to figure out what to do next. She really wanted to win because if she did she'd get an extra half hour of video game time and her mom had to play with her. She was just about to reach for her King when a car horn started blaring outside. They ignored it but when it sounded again both Shepard ladies looked up. After a third round of blows Jenny got up to look and Kennedy followed. When her mom pulled back the curtain she could just make out her dad leaning against a yellow '71 Dodge Charger Hemi. Pulling open the door the girl stopped at the top of the step as she stared at her dad and the car. "That's awesome!"

Jenny chuckled. "Well I guess your loyalty to that car runs deeper than I thought."

Gibbs smiled a huge smile. "Come on. Lets go."

"Go?" Jenny asked while watching Kennedy dart towards her dad and his car.

"Yeah." Gibbs said, still smiling.

"Where?" Jenny asked.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "For a ride Jen. Get what you gotta get woman and move your ass."

"Jethro!" Jenny scolded.

Kennedy giggled. Kennedy took great pride in being the one to get her dad hooked on his first t.v. show in forever. Every Monday night he would come over to the townhouse, if he wasn't already there, and they'd watch Top Gear together.

Of course Jenny gave in and went to get her purse, house keys, and cell phone. She never could say no to that smile. Once everyone was in the car and Gibbs had turned it on Jenny said, "Jethro, my child is in this car don't you…"

At which point Gibbs gunned it, squealing away from the curb and into traffic, cutting her off. He didn't really have any destination in mind, he simply wanted to drive his car and be with his family. They simply drove around for a while before stopping for dinner.

While Kennedy was in the restroom washing up Jenny took the moment alone to ask, "So things went well with your dad?"

Jethro nodded. "He gave me the car. I bought the old thing before I left, thinking I'd rebuild it, he finished it for me after I was gone."

Jenny smiled. She knew Jethro well enough to know that actions often took the place of words.

"I gave him a picture of Kennedy." Jethro told her.

"You did?" Jenny replied.

Jethro nodded. "Invited him to meet you two."

"Jethro." Jenny said softly. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. What was Jackson Gibbs going to think about her once he hears the truth? She'd kept his son's child from him. Who's going to be ok with that? And yet she was smiling. Jethro wanted her to meet his father. That meant a lot to her. It meant that they were moving forward in their relationship.

He watched the thoughts and emotions play out in her eyes and reached across the table, taking her hand in his. "Don't worry Jen. He's going to love you."

"Who's going to love her?" Kennedy asked as she dropped into the seat beside her dad.

"Your grandpa." Jethro replied.

Shock played out of the girl's features as she said, "I have a grandpa?"

"Why is everyone so surprised I have father?" Jethro asked looking slightly annoyed.

Jenny chuckled. "You never talk about him."

"Abby and I aren't convinced your not supernatural." Kennedy replied. "Supernatural doesn't normally come with parents."

"Will you just tell her how you got the boat out of the basement already." Jenny teased.

Jethro shook his head and smirked.

It had been so easy to fall into each other's arms again once they'd allow themselves to do so. The night of the Marine Ball Jethro had taken her home to his place. She'd expected to find herself in the basement silently cursing him for getting sawdust all over her pricy evening gown. Which made the surprise of being led up to his bedroom that much more sweet. The bed was new, made by his own hand; his way of showing her he wanted a fresh start in life. He was showing her he'd moved on and that he was ready to love her in a way he couldn't before. If the bed hadn't been enough to show her that then the way he'd made love to her would have. Old passions and desires came to life again along side new emotions and new dreams. Jethro had been tender and sweet, showing her sides of himself she hadn't seen before. It had been wonderful, the perfect way to reconnect after so long apart, and so much baggage between them.

This new, deeper connection was wonderful, but that didn't mean there weren't times when it was just about incredible sex. Jenny had her share of lovers but none of them came close to the raw passion she had with Jethro. Gibbs and his team had been working a case that involved Metro police, and Jenny had been trying to play mediator, but Jethro seemed to be under cutting her every effort. Of course this led to huge fights between them. Jenny reminded him that she was the Director he was the agent. Jethro pointed out yet again that Jenny should have stayed a field agent. When he left the Navy Yard that evening she could hear the squeal of his car tires from her office and it made her sigh.

After finishing her paperwork and making a few calls Jenny headed home to change. She didn't want to go over to Jethro's dressed as the Director she wanted to just be Jenny. Kennedy was spending the evening with Ducky and his mother; something about Kennedy's presence brought Mrs. Mallard a little more clarity these days, so they had time to work through some things. She wasn't surprised to find him in his basement with an open bottle of bourbon, working on his new project. "Jethro."

He watched her as she took the last step into the basement over the rim of the jelly jar he was drinking from. The moment she said he name he set the glass aside and went to her. He pulled her close a little roughly and kissed her. With one hand tangled in her hair, which had grown out nicely, and one on her ass he kissed her until she was breathless. He didn't give her a chance to speak. His warm icy blue eyes raked over her body, taking in the way the jeans she had on showed off the curve of her hips. The tank top she had on under the green denim jacket let him get a good view of her chest, but still left something to the imagination.

Jenny wasn't sure how they'd managed to move away from the stairs to the center of the room and she really didn't care. Her eyes were locked on his as her chest rose and fell quickly, replacing the air that had been trapped in her lungs for the duration of the kiss. Her gaze reminded on his as she felt him use his fingers to open her jacket. She bit her bottom lip at the sensation of his callused finger trailing along the neckline of her tank top. His touch had been so slow and deliberate that when he practically tore the jacket off her body it stunned her.

He kissed her hard while he let his hands move to her waist. Without breaking the kiss he lifted her up and sat her on the sawhorse-supported wood decking of his new project. His hands then moved to her thighs, squeezing a little roughly as he parted her legs so he could move between them.

Jenny was caught up in what was happening, enjoying his roughness, his possessiveness. Before long their clothes littered the basement floor, hung from his workbench, and she was pretty sure she heard her heels hit the washer/dryer just outside the landing. As he pushed her onto her back, her legs going around his waist, she looked into his eyes, "Jethro if I get a splinter in my as…"

The rest of her words were cut off by a hard kiss.

Several hours later Jenny moaned a husky, "Jethro." He grunted his reply, causing her to moan again. "I have to go." She told him. "I need to be home when Ducky brings Kennedy home."

Another forty minutes passed before Jenny was finally making it out to her car. She got back to the townhouse with just enough time to take a shower. When she heard the rumble of Ducky's Morgan out front she got up and the moment she put pressure on her heel she swore. It might not have been in her ass but she still ended up with a splinter. She was going to make him pay for that.

"Mom!" Kennedy called out just as Jenny made it to the foyer.

"Right here honey you don't have to bellow." Jenny scolded lightly as she smiled.

"Look what Mrs. Mallard gave me!" Kennedy said happily as she showed of the lace handkerchief Ducky's mother had given her. "She said that every young lady should have one. She also said it wasn't for blowing my nose. It's a token. I'm not sure what that means."

Jenny chuckled as she smiled at the bubbly-ness of her little girl. "I'm sure Ducky will explain it when your older. Why don't you go put it someplace safe?" Kennedy agreed and dashed up the stairs while Jenny turned to Ducky. "I've just made a fresh pot of chamomile and lavender tea. Would you like to join me?"

"I would love to my dear. I must admit I do not enjoy going straight home after visiting Mother. The house is so empty without her and the dogs." Ducky said as he hung his hat and coat in the entry. "I do want to thank you for allowing Kennedy to come with me this evening. Mother brightens so when she sees the girl. I think perhaps she thinks Kennedy his her granddaughter."

"If it brings her a little happiness to think so Ducky, then that's more then fine." Jenny said softly as she turned to walk back into the living room.

Ducky frowned when he caught sight of Jenny's limp and grimace. "Jennifer my dear, are you injured?"

"I'm fine Ducky." She tried to reassure her friend who was instantly at her side helping her to a chair. "I think I got a splinter in my heel."

The old Scotsman knew his closest friends well enough not to ask for details. There was after all only one place Jenny would come into contact with unfinished wood. "May I?" He asked while already lifting her foot to his thigh after sitting on the coffee table. "Oh my that is a nasty one. First aid kit?"

"Top shelf behind the panel in the downstairs bathroom." Jenny answered. Once Ducky was out of the room she grabbed her cell phone and sent Gibbs a text that read, next time we have sex in your basement I'm keeping my shoes on your damn wood put a splinter in my foot. His reply read; Fine with me. There's a reason they call them fuck me heels. Jenny was blushing when Ducky returned.

There was a long weekend coming up and Jackson Gibbs decided he was going to take the time to see his son and meet his granddaughter. After leaving the store in trustworthy hands he started the drive from Stillwater to D.C. arriving just around lunchtime. The look on the officers' faces as he passed through lobby security made him chuckle. Apparently everyone was having a real hard time thinking of Gibbs having a father. When he stepped of the elevator on his son's floor he looked around to see if he could spot him but was quickly spotted himself.

"Salome Mr. Gibbs!" Ziva greeted upon seeing the older man.

"Well hello to you too pretty lady." Jackson replied with a beaming smile. "And I thought I told you to call me Jackson?"

Hearing Ziva's voice and the name she'd spoken caused Kate to jump from her seat. "Jackson! What a wonderful surprise!"

"Hello Katie darlin'." Jackson greet as the young woman came over to give him a hug.

Kate and Ziva ushered Gibbs' father over to their cluster of desks. "Gibbs is out right now. He didn't say you were coming."

"Thought I'd surprise him." Jackson admitted. "Besides, it's high time I met my granddaughter and Leroy's woman."

Tony choked on the sip of water he'd been taking as Jackson talked. He coughed, sputtered and laughed all the same time while Ziva and Kate glared at him, McGee rolled his eyes at him, and Jackson looked at him oddly.

"You alright there boy?" Jackson asked.

"Leroy's woman!" Tony said, laughing hysterically.

"Tony." Kate hissed softly.

"He called the Director Leroy's woman!" Tony barked out, wheezing a little from laughing so hard.

Kate smacked him in the back of the head and then jerked her own head up towards the catwalk.

Tony stopped laughing as he looked up. Sure enough Jenny was perched at her railing, arms spread out as she gripped the metal, and one eyebrow raised in that way that said she was annoyed. Tony swallowed hard as he met her gaze.

"That her?" Jackson asked as everyone looked up at Jenny.

Ziva nodded. "Jennifer Shepard, our Director, Kennedy's mother, and…"

"Leroy's woman." Jackson finished.

Something told her that Jethro didn't know his father was coming. He would have told her if he'd known. Standing on the catwalk, gripping the railing as if she were a queen looking upon her kingdom, Jenny could fight off the sudden bout of nerves and insecurities. This was her domain, but she couldn't go down there and greet her daughter's grandfather, her lover's father, as Director Shepard. What kind of first impression was that? She waited a few more seconds, mentally preparing herself, before making her way down the stairs. When she finally joined the others she smiled brightly and held out her hand, "Mr. Gibbs. It's nice to finally meet you."

From the moment he spotted her he'd been watching her. He could see it in the way she stood, the way she walked, and now face-to-face he could see it in her eyes. "You're a far cry from Shannon I can tell that already." Jackson said as he took her hand. "And it's Jack, Jackson, or Dad to you, Jen."

"Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack!" Abby called out as she came running into the bullpen, engulfing the man in a crushing hug.

His first words to her and he'd compared her to Shannon. Well that was one hell of start. While Abby had him preoccupied Jenny said, "I'm going to go get Jethro."

It had been one hell of a fight but Gibbs had managed to convince Jenny that with Kennedy spending so much time around armed federal agents she needed to learn proper safety and handled when it came to guns. Standing behind Kennedy at the firing range he corrected her stance and the hold she had on her mother's off duty SIG, which was smaller than her on duty SIG. "Move your hands a little or the slide is going to bite your hand." Once her grip was right he nodded. "Good." Then he covered her ear with the noise canceling headphones.

Kennedy was smiling. Not only was she getting to spend time with her dad he was teaching her how to shoot. She'd been excited about this for weeks. He'd told her what to do, this was her fourth round of the day, so when he tapped her shoulder she counted to three and pulled the trigger. The bounce back caused her arms to jerk but Gibbs had his hands on her forearms, using his own arms as a brace so Kennedy's would jerk up and send a rouge bullet into the air. "Whoa! That's not like the pistol!"

Gibbs chuckled and tapped her shoulder again.

Jenny was uncomfortable watching her little girl fire a weapon but Jethro was right about making sure she understood that any kind of weapon was not a toy, and that there was a lot of responsibility involved. When Kennedy put the SIG down she smiled softly at the way she shook out her hands. "Kind of tingly?"

"Yeah!" Kennedy said with a giggle before rushing over to her mother. "Did you see me!?"

"I saw you." Jenny said with a smile that she couldn't help. Kennedy looked so proud of herself.

"I totally like yours better then Dad's." Kennedy said.

Gibbs just rolled his eyes before saying, "The pistol is not my service weapon. Your Mom and I use the same gun on the job." Then he added, "You shot it, you clean it, and you put back where it belongs."

Kennedy nodded. "Ok, but you have to carry it back up to Mom's office."

Jenny pulled Jethro aside and dropped her voice. "That might have to wait." She said softly as she looked up at him. "You're father's here."

They let Kennedy go ahead of them so they could talk. Besides, she didn't want to wait, she wanted to tell Ziva and Kate about the hour she spent on the shooting range. "Zee-vah!" She called out in that sing-songy way Tony had of saying the woman's name. "Katie! Guess what!? Dad let me fire Mom's SIG and it was so totally awesomely cool!"

Jackson rose to his feet when the girl came bursting onto the scene. He frowned slightly at what she said, but it wasn't surprising that his son would teach his child about such things. His smile warmed as he watched the pretty little girl with auburn red hair and bright blue eyes talk to the agents. He could already tell she was a firecracker.

"Dad." Gibbs said when he and Jenny arrived.

"Leroy." Jackson replied with a smile.

"Good to see ya." Gibbs returned the smile as he took his father's hand in his. "Could have called and told me you were coming."

"Wouldn't have been much of a surprise then would it?" Jackson asked.

Gibbs just nodded before saying, "We need to talk."

"Later son." Jackson replied. "I've already had the honor of meetin' Jen here." He gave Jenny a warm smile. "I'd like to meet my granddaughter if you don't mind."

Gibbs nodded. "Kennedy, there's someone here I want you to meet."

It was awkward for maybe three seconds after Gibbs introduced them, and then Kennedy beamed a smiled at the old man that lit up her eyes and Jackson was a goner. Just like that he was wrapped around the girl's finger and everyone knew it. He stuck around for about an hour talking and laughing with everyone before Gibbs said he should follow him back to the house. When they got there Jackson was surprised to see a lack of a woman's touch around. "You haven't let her do the place up?"

"Jen doesn't live here." Jethro replied as he dropped his dad's bag on the end of the couch.

"Why not?" Jackson asked.

"She has her own place." Jethro answered.

Jackson frowned a bit. "I thought you two were raising the girl together?"

"We are." Jethro replied.

"In two separate houses?" His father asked. "I thought you and Jen were together?"

"We are together." Jethro said with a sigh. "But it hasn't been that long, Dad. We're taking things slow this time."

Jackson sat on the sofa and looked up at his son with a hard look on his face. "Tell me everything Leroy."

Gibbs sighed, grabbed a bottle of bourbon, and told his dad the abridged version of the story of Jenny and Jethro. Jackson listened, but he also watched, which let him pick up what his son was leaving out. It had been a long time since he'd seen those kinds of emotions play out in his son's eyes. He noticed everything. The way Jethro's lips twitched just a little every time he said Jenny's name. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about Kennedy. He should be angry and upset over what had happened, the time Jethro had lost with his child, but how could he be mad at someone who'd brought life back to his son's heart?

That evening Jenny and Kennedy came over for dinner so they could get to know Jackson better, and he could get to know them. They talked, laughed, and told stories while Jethro grilled steaks. Jackson challenged Kennedy to a game of gin and while they played he watched Jethro and Jenny together. He could tell by the way she acted with Jethro that she was hopelessly in love with him, and he was getting to see first hand that Jethro was just as much in love with her.

After dinner Jethro and Kennedy retreated to the basement leaving Jenny to help Jackson with cleanup. Jackson could feel the tension and had a pretty good idea what it was from. "What I said earlier about you not being like Shannon, that's a good thing."

Jenny looked up from rinsing out their dinner glasses.

"You two are more equally matched." Jackson said. "You don't take crap from each other but your there to back each other up. He needs a woman like you." He looked up to meet her gaze. "And something tells me you need a man like him."

"No," Jenny said softly. "Not a man like him. I need him."

Jackson smiled. "Good, because he needs you too."


	15. Chapter 15

She didn't hear him come into the house, she felt him. Jenny looked up from the Sudoku puzzle she was working on, muted the t.v. and slid off her glasses as she waited for him to make his appearance. There had always been this odd connection between them. It was part of what made them such great partners back in the day. They could sense each other in a way that only came when two people were as bonded as they were. It really was surprising that she and Jethro had fought against it so hard for so long. But loving someone the way she loved Jethro, needing him the way she needed him, committing to the kind of relationship they had could be a very scary thing. When he stepped into the room she couldn't help but smile. The sight of him simply made her happy.

"I thought you were on duty tonight?" She asked as he made his way across the room to her.

"I am." Jethro replied before leaning down to kiss her. The kiss was a bit heated for a simple hello kiss. Work had been keeping them pretty busy and finding time to be alone had been at a minimum. Jethro had to force himself to pull away from her. "Wanted to see the girls off."

"They're still upstairs getting ready." Jenny said, her voice a bit husky and breathless. "Trick or treating doesn't start for another twenty minutes."

The first one down the stairs was Abby in a cloud of pink taffeta and blonde curls. It was so far from what they were use to seeing Abby in that both Gibbs and Jenny were taken by surprise. Of course their reaction made the young woman smile. "How do I look?"

"Pink." Gibbs replied honestly.

Jenny elbowed him in the ribs before saying, "You look great Abby. That's an amazing costume."

"Who are you?" Gibbs asked, earning another elbow from his lover.

Abby giggled. "Why Gibbs, don't you know Glinda the Good Witch when you see her?"

"Wizard of Oz?" Gibbs asked, looking a little confused. "Wasn't she a redhead?"

"Of course you'd remember that part." Jenny said with a roll of her eyes and a snort.

Abby giggled again. "Yes Gibbs, in the movie she's a redhead, but I'm Glinda from the musical."

"There's a musical?" Came another question from out of touch Gibbs.

"Wicked." Abby said with a nod. "Jenny took us to see it when we to New York last month."

"And Kennedy's been obsessed ever since." Jenny added. The tone of her voice was gentle annoyance because Kennedy had been playing the soundtrack non-stop for weeks. She didn't really mind too much though. It had been an amazing weekend and she had really enjoyed getting some one on one time with Abby. She and Ziva had had a pre-established relationship when they arrived, and over the last year of working so closely together she and Kate had formed a strong friendship, but when it came to Abby Jenny had known that it would be so much more than just a friendship. Gibbs was a father to the young woman and that played a roll in the relationship Jenny would have with her. It had startled Jenny at first, how easy it was to care for Abby, to fall into mothering the girl. "You did an amazing job on it, Abs."

Abby beamed brightly at the praise.

"I'm ready!" Kennedy called from upstairs.

"Come on Giblet!" Abby said excitedly. She'd made both of the dresses they were wearing with Kennedy's help. It had been so much fun that she was a little sad it was about to be over. But Abby being Abby meant she was already getting excited about next year's costumes.

When Kennedy came down she was wearing a long black witch's dress, had on a pointed hat and black wig, was covered in green body make-up and was carrying a broom. She and Abby were both beaming with pride as Kennedy stood beside her. Jenny grabbed the camera while quietly thinking she was going to have a green mess in her shower later.

"So if Abs is the good witch does that make you the wicked witch?" Gibbs asked as his daughter while she and Abby posed for pictures.

"I'm Elphaba." Kennedy answered. "So yeah, I'm the wicked witch."

"You two look amazing." Jenny said with a warm affectionate smile. Then she turned on the mom voice. "Abby, keep an eye on her, and don't be out to late. Call me before you go to the party."

Abby gave a quick salute. "Yes ma'am."

"Party?" Gibbs asked with a raised brow.

Kennedy nodded excitedly. "After trick-or-treating Abby's taking me to a party at the cemetery! It's going to be awesome!"

"They'll be fine Jethro." Jenny reassured before her lover could protest. "It's a kid friendly party."

"Yeah Gibbs." Abby said as she handed Kennedy her treat bag. "I would never take my little sister to an adult themed party. It doesn't even start until one a.m. and she'll be out cold by midnight."

"Will not." Kennedy huffed.

"Out cold or not you'll be home by midnight." Jenny told her.

The girls had a great time. Abby didn't just walk around with Kennedy; she actually went door to door filling up her own bag full of treats. By the time they were finished the two had enough candy between them to last a year. The party at the cemetery was even better. There was dancing and cool themed snacks and drinks. The costumes took Kennedy's breath away. All of Abby's friends were nice, and Kennedy made several new friends her age. Including Abby's best friend's nephew, Zeke.

"Did you just give a boy your phone number?" Abby teased as she put an arm around Kennedy's shoulders.

"No." Kennedy answered. "My e-mail."

"Same difference." Abby teased.

When they got back to the townhouse they poured all their loot out on the coffee table and giggled as they watched Jenny's eyes widen. While she started sorting through it Kennedy went to shower and Abby went to change. She had a more adult themed costume for her next party in the car. When Kennedy came back down she and Abby settled on the couch with a few select pieces of candy and a Halloween movie on Disney channel. Jenny left the room for ten minutes to put the bulk of the candy away and when she returned both of her girls were sound asleep. She didn't have the heart to wake them, though she did whisper softly to Abby not wanting the young woman to miss her party, but Abby mumbled a soft incoherent reply so she just covered them with a blanket. Jenny watched the girls for a moment and then kissed them both on top of the head before grabbing the candy she'd picked out for herself and heading upstairs.

Something woke her with a start. Jenny sat up in bed and listened, letting her senses pick up on what had awoken her. Glancing at the clock she could see it was early, a little past five a.m. and it made her grumble. She was off for the holiday weekend and being up this early when she didn't have to be was ticking her off. She knew it wasn't Jethro, it didn't feel like him, but someone was downstairs. Slipping out of bed she pulled open her nightstand drawer and took out her off duty weapon and it's clip, which she slid into the SIG as she made her way to her door. She quietly made her way out of her room, stopping to check on Kennedy in hers. Her little girl was curled up with Bert Jr. sound asleep. Jenny closed her daughter's bedroom door and then crept to the stairs. She had her gun down, her finger off the trigger, but she was ready to fire if she had too. She took the steps as slowly and quietly as she could. Someone was in her living room.

Jenny crept to the door, paused against the wall and then raised her weapon as she turned into the doorway to check the room. A sound to her left made her turn suddenly, aiming her SIG at the person who'd come into the room from the kitchen. The woman was older then Jenny, her hair a rick chestnut brown, and her eyes a sparking green. The woman gasped when she found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Jesus Christ!" Virginia Shepard yelped, her free hand going to her chest while the other gripped a mug. "Jennifer Lauren Shepard put that thing away!"

"Mom?" Jenny replied as she lowered the SIG, clicking the safety back on. "Damnit Mom I could have shot you! What are you doing here?"

"Having a heart attack apparently." The elder Shepard replied as she took a deep breath to calm her nervous.

Jenny gave her mother a look that said she didn't find her amusing at the moment.

"I thought it would be nice to spend Thanksgiving with my daughter and granddaughter." Virginia finally replied after a short battle of glares. "You've been in D.C. for how many years now and we haven't had a holiday together, why?"

"You don't like coming back here." Jenny said softly, honestly. "Not since Daddy…"

"Yes, we all know dear." Virginia said, cutting Jenny off before she could finish.

Her mother had practically fled Washington D.C. after her father's death like it was one of those post apocalyptic cities in the movies that were suddenly so popular. Her sister Heather had settled on the West Coast following college so Virginia headed that way as well since Jenny was in Europe. The house was left to Jenny in her father's will so Virginia had no issue with signing it over early, since technically Jenny shouldn't have inherited it until after her mother's death, but Virginia just couldn't bare living in the house where her husband had died.

Jenny gave a soft, almost whiney, moan. "I'm going back to bed."

"Alone?" Virginia asked with a raised brow.

Jenny turned back towards her mother with a glare. "Yes alone. Jethro isn't here." Her eyes narrowed as she added, "That's why you're here. You want to check out Jethro."

"It's the holidays Jen." Virginia said with a dismissive flick of her hand. "And I'm not getting any younger. I have more holidays behind me then I do in front of me. I'm here to spend time with you and Kennedy."

"Bull." Jenny replied while she glared at her mother, arms crossed over her chest.

"Meeting this Gibbs of yours is simply a bonus." The elder Shepard said with a smirk.

Jenny groaned again. "I knew we should have gone on vacation." She grumbled as she left the room, heading back upstairs to her room and her bed. She didn't have the energy to deal with her mother this early in the morning. When she came back downstairs several hours and a hot shower later she found her mother and Kennedy in the living room. Kennedy's half eaten breakfast was sitting on the coffee table and Jenny had to hold back a groan. She didn't allow Kennedy to eat in the living room but apparently having Grandma around meant the rules went out the window.

"Mom!" Kennedy said excitedly when Jenny walked into the room. "Grandma's here!"

"Yes baby I know." Jenny replied as she walked over and kissed Kennedy's forehead the way she did every morning. "I nearly shot her this morning." She added before turning towards the kitchen. "I need coffee."

Kennedy turned to her grandmother with a shrug and said, "She's a little more grumpy than normal on the mornings Dad isn't here."

"I see." Virginia said as she watched her daughter flee to the kitchen. "Is he here often? In the mornings?"

"When he can be." Kennedy answered. "If he's working a case he has super weird hours, but he always comes by at least once every day."

In the kitchen Jenny pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She hit number one on her speed dial and waited for the sound of his voice. A smile tugged at her lips when she heard his yeah Gibbs on the other end of the line. "My mother's here."

"I can handle your mother." Jethro replied as he reached for his coffee cup after dropped a tip in the jar.

Jenny snorted. "Sure, keep telling yourself that."

"I can handle you can't I?" He teased.

"It would be inappropriate for you to handle my mother the way you handle me, Jethro." Jenny replied while pouring cream into her coffee after stirring in some sugar.

Jethro was smirking. "I got you to admit I can handle you."

Jenny groaned. "I hate you."

He chuckled that deep rumbling happy laugh that he knew she loved to hear. "Do you need an extraction from the situation Madam Director?"

She had no doubt that he could get her out of the house without either her mother or their daughter knowing, and it was a very temping offer. Jenny actually considered it for a moment before finally shaking her head. "We might as well get this over and done with before Thanksgiving. I don't want to ruin Ducky's plans. You know how much he enjoys this holiday."

"So I should come over?" He asked.

"Are you working a case?" Jenny asked in return.

He nodded as if she could see him. "I wouldn't mind an extraction of my own. Remind me to tell you formally when you get back to the office that Vance is an ass and the team hates him."

Jenny chuckled. "He'll be out of your pretty silver hair in a few days, and I promise if you keep playing nice with Leon I'll make it worth your wile."

"Yeah, that's the only reason he hasn't been thrown over the railing." Jethro replied seriously.

"Jethro, don't you dare." Jenny warned him.

"Who said I was the one wanting to toss him over?" Jethro replied.

Jenny groaned. "Ziva. I'll talk to her."

"Nope." He replied. "Abby."

Jenny's eyes went a little wide and then she couldn't help but laugh. They spoke for a few more moments before hanging up. Then Jenny hit another number on her speed dial and waited for a response. "Traitor." She said as soon as she heard the voice on the line. "Why didn't you tell me Mom was heading my way?" She asked her sister. "Yeah, well just remember little sister, pay back's a bitch."

After she talked to her sister and Jethro Jenny felt better then she had when walked into the kitchen. She smiled softly at Noemi as she said, "I know this is short notice Noemi but Jethro will be joining us for a late lunch. He gets to meet my mother."

Noemi smiled teasingly. "I understand Senora. No sharp knives."

Jenny chuckled as she accepted her breakfast from the woman. "Jethro carries his own."

"I was refereeing to the elder Senora Shepard." Noemi replied, her smile more of a smirk now.

"In that case no sharp forks either." Jenny said with a laugh.

When she finally returned to the living room Jenny held back yet another sigh. Kennedy was sitting at the coffee table on her knees picking at her scrambled eggs with her fingers while flipping through a Warhammer figurine model catalog. "Is there something wrong with your fork Kennedy?"

The girl looked up with a confused expression. "No, why?" Her mother gave her a look that made her shift a little uncomfortably. "Sorry." She said softly as she picked up her fork to finish off her food before taking her plate into the kitchen.

It was a little after two in the afternoon when Virginia looked up from her watch. "He's late."

"He's working a case." Jenny replied. "He'll be here as soon as he's able."

"In the mean time we simply sit here and wait?" Her mother asked.

Jenny nodded, "Yes."

"Jen." Jethro's voice rang out from the foyer.

"Or not." Jenny said as she got up to greet Jethro.

Virginia didn't miss the fact that her daughter's face lit up at the sound of the man's voice.

The moment she saw him Jenny smiled. "Everything alright?"

Jethro kissed her hello, letting his hug linger a little because he could feel the tension in her body. Jenny loved her mother, but things between them had always been a bit strained. It wasn't anyone's fault really. Jenny had been a Daddy's Girl, and that always led to tensions with the mother. It didn't help that both women were head strong to the point of wanting to strangle them. "Yeap, sent DiNozzo and McGee to pick up our suspect and drop him into interrogation until I get back. Gotta couple hours wait for anything from Abby, who's not even in her lab."

"Where is she?" Jenny asked as she stepped back from his embrace feeling calmer, stronger, and more able to handle the afternoon ahead of her.

"Ducky sent the girls on some last minute dinner errands." He replied, his expression shifting to something that showed a bit of amusement and some confusion. "I think he threatened to stab me with a scalpel if I pulled them in for the case."

Jenny chuckled, her eyes bright with affection for their old Scottish friend. "You do know how he loves this holiday."

They'd moved into the space just outside Jenny's study, away from view of the living room. The sound of footfalls made them both glance up and smile. Jenny's smile however faded when she saw her eleven year old sliding down the hand carved wood banister. Her bright blue-green eyes popped wide a little as she moved so Kennedy would see her once she'd dismounted. "Excuse me young lady but what do you think you're doing?"

"Mom." The girl yelped in surprise. "Sorry." Kennedy said quickly, blushing at being caught.

Jethro crooked his little finger at their daughter and then pointed to the space right in front of him. Kennedy sighed softly and took the few steps closer. When she was standing before him he asked, "Are you allowed to slide down the banister like that?"

Loose auburn hair swayed as Kennedy shook her head. "No sir, but I forgot."

"Seems like you're forgetting a lot today." Jethro said firmly while maintaining eye contact with his daughter. "Just because your grandmother's here doesn't mean you get to start ignoring your mother's rules, Kennedy. There's room for a little leeway when someone special comes to visit, but they're just here as guests, this is your and your mother's home. You are still expected to respect that, the guidelines put into place for you, and your mother. Clear?"

"Yes sir." Kennedy replied softly.

Jethro nodded. "Go back upstairs and walk down properly this time."

Kennedy sighed but went up the stairs to the landing.

"All the way up." Jethro said while he and Jenny watched.

The girl sighed again but went all the way back upstairs before walking down the way she's suppose to. Walking over to her parents she looked at her mom, "Sorry Mommy."

"Accepted." Jenny replied, the stern look she'd been wearing though Jethro's little lecture softening to a warm smile. "Go wash for lunch. Apparently Noemi is now interrupting prepare something special into make all of Kennedy's favorites."

The girl gave a not so subtle sniff of the air and her face lit up. "Goat stew!"

Jenny laughed as she sent her little girl off with a pop to her backside.

"Goat stew is her favorite?" Jethro asked with a slight crinkle to his nose.

"She has very European tastes Jethro, and it's one of her favorites, she also like rabbit." Jenny replied as they turned to find her mother watching from the living room doorway. She tensed a little.

Gibbs stepped forward with a slight nod of his head in acknowledgement. "Mrs. Shepard."

"Agent Gibbs." Virginia replied. She didn't even bother hiding the fact that she was looking him over in a way that said she was not impressed. "You were overly harsh with my granddaughter, don't you think?"

"Nope." Gibbs said calmly. "I think I handled our daughter just fine."

Jenny groaned internally. And here she thought she'd had a rocky start with Jack. Now she could tell that was just an awkward moment between them. This was what a train wreck waiting to happen looked like.

"Mom!" Kennedy called from the dinning room. "Are you guys coming?"

"We'd better go in before she spontaneously combusts from waiting." Jenny said softly.

Walking into the dinning room Jethro's actions spoke volumes. He made sure Jenny took the seat at the head of the table before sitting to her right. His message was received loud and clear, this was Jen's home, Virginia was just a guest. A small part of her liked knowing someone was watching out for her daughter. A much larger part of her however thought that this gruff man wasn't what she wanted for Jenny, or for Kennedy. As she watched him interact with Kennedy, who was seated to his right, she could see that the girl was just as enthralled with him as Jenny was.

"Come on Daddy." Kennedy said as she watched her father stare at a chunk of goat's meat at the end of his spoon. "Try it. It's really good. You'll like it."

"How do you know I'll like it?" Jethro asked. He was teasing her. He'd had goat's meat before, he'd eaten a lot of things in his life, but he loved these little moments between them.

Kennedy gave her dad a look that said, are you serious? "You eat Marine rations and like them. This is actually good."

There was a soft smile on Jenny's face she watched the banter. It was as clear as the expensive Waterford crystal in the hatch against the wall that she was happy, that she was content, and that her life was in a really good place. If only her mother could see, and accept, that that final pin that held Jenny's happiness together was Jethro.

"He isn't what I had in mind for you Jennifer." Virginia said that evening while the two women had a drink in front of the fire in Jen's study.

"Why?" Jenny asked. "Because he isn't a navel officer or a politician, or some other member of your preferred social circle?"

"He's gruff, brash, rude…" Virginia began.

Jenny sighed. "Enough Mother." She said firmly. "I'm not going to sit here and let you bash him."

Virginia just shook her head in dismay. "You shouldn't have come back here, Jennifer. There was a reason you didn't tell him you were pregnant. There was a reason you kept Kennedy from him for so long…"

Jenny was quick to cut her off. "The reason I kept Kennedy a secret had nothing to do with Jethro and everything to do with me. My choices were purely selfish and had nothing to do with the kind of man he is. He's a wonderful father, and he's a wonderful partner. I love him, Mom. Kennedy loves him. And that's that."

Before the elder Shepard could reply the bellow of the youngest Shepard rang out from the stop of the stairs. "Mom!"

Jenny rose from the leather chair she'd been sitting in and stepped out into the hall to look up. "Yes my love?"

"Abby wants to know if she left her purple studded dog collar here." Kennedy said while leaning over the banister enough to make her mother nervous. "And her black cuffs with the silver loops and chain."

"If she did they're in her room." Jenny answered. "She can come over and look for herself."

"Ok!" Kennedy said and then pushed away from the railing.

"Kennedy." Jenny called out and waiting for her daughter's gaze. "Tell Abigail that I'm her surrogate mother not her maid. If she would put things away where they're supposed to go she wouldn't loose them."

Kennedy laughed. "You know I'm just going to type Mom yelled at you, right?"

That made Jenny laugh and shake her head slightly as she went back into her study. As she retook her seat she looked over at her mother who was looking at her in a way that demanded an explanation of what she'd just heard. "Abby is the young forensic specialist that works with Gibbs' team. She's known Jethro for," She paused, unsure of just how long she and Gibbs had known each other. "Well, forever seems to fit because it's as if they've just always known each other. Both of Abby's parents are deceased and any family she has remaining are all in the New Orleans area. Jethro's a surrogate father to her. It was actually very easy and natural for me to assume the role of his maternal counterpart. She's a bright, funny, amazing young woman with the biggest heart I've ever encountered."

"Aren't all these personal connections your making detrimental to your role as director?" Virginia asked. "You've worked so hard, Jen, sacrificed so much, how could you be so careless in protecting what you've earned?"

"It hasn't be a detriment, if anything it's been advantage, a benefit, a blessing." Jenny replied. "I don't get lost in the bureaucracy and the games because they keep my feet on the ground."

"Your father…" Virginia began.

"Was killed because he couldn't play the games that rule this city." Jenny said firmly. "I not only play them I'm damn good at them. I just don't get caught up in crap that's left behind."

"Abby's here!" Kennedy called out as she ran down the stairs to the front door to let Abby in.

Abby breezed into her friend's home, pausing in her rush to hug Kennedy, and then darted up the stairs. When she came back down Jenny was waiting and smiling. "Got them! Sorry, Ducky has us running errands no time to talk left Kate and Ziva in the hearse and it makes them nervous." She paused again to kiss Jenny on the cheek and hug Kennedy. She was just about to buzz out the door when she spotted Virginia. "Oh. Hello."

Jenny was smiling softly. "Mom, this is Abby Sciuto. Abs, my mother Virginia Shepard."

Abby walked over to shake Virginia's hand. "It is very nice to meet you Mrs. Shepard."

After a few minutes of pleasantries Abby was out the door. Turning to her daughter Virginia asked, "Did she say hearse?"

The reason Ducky loved Thanksgiving so much was because it allowed him to be with the people he cared for the most. The laughter and smiling faces he heard and saw in his sitting room warmed his heart. It was the only day when the big old house didn't feel so cold and lonely. As they took their seats at the table he took in the faces of his family, his gaze lingering on Jethro and Jennifer because they were the reason he had Anthony, Caitlin, Ziva, Timothy, Abigail, Kennedy, and even Jimmy. The inclusion this year of Virginia Shepard who Ducky had taken to immediately and Jackson Gibbs, just made it all the sweeter. As his loving gaze went from person to person he took in the table as well. "Alright," Ducky said suddenly, his eyes locked onto a serving plate that held a wiggly can shaped purple jelly. "Who smuggled the tinned cranberry jelly into my house?"

Every single set of eyes snapped to Gibbs.

"What?" The silver haired man said as he returned their looks. "I like canned cranberry jelly."

The normally prim and slightly stuffy old Georgetown townhouse owned by Director Jennifer Shepard was decked out in perfect Victorian holiday décor. The banister was wrapped in garland, ribbons, and fairy lights. There was a huge wreath on the front door. A massive Christmas tree dominated the living room. The fireplace mantel held stockings and holiday cards, and Hanukkah menorah she always put out just for Ziva. The whole house smelled of pine and cookies. It was warm, welcoming, and the moment Jenny stepped inside all her stress, all her concerns about the outside world melted away.

For the first time since she was a child her home would soon be full of laughter, love, and holiday cheer. Despite having her fill of holiday parties, Jenny was looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with Jethro, their daughter, and their agents. Jenny chuckled softly, in her mind agents actually meant kids when it came to this particular group.

"Did you get the packages I sent up?" Jackson asked over the video chat connection.

Kennedy was sitting on her mother's lap at her desk. Jenny's laptop was open and Jack's smiling face was on the screen. "They're already under the tree. Daddy said we had to wait until morning to open them though."

"Well you tell that son of mine that your allowed to open one tonight." Jackson replied.

"I wish you'd been able to come up Jack." Jenny said with a warm smile.

"Me to darlin'." Jack replied. "Next year I promise."

"Hey what are you two up to in here?" Jethro asked as he walked into the study.

"Hi son." Jack's voice called out.

Jethro walked over to the desk to stand behind Jenny's chair and blinked. "Dad? You're video chatting?"

Jack beamed a bright smile. "You have to keep up with the times, son. Tim came down after Thanksgiving and helped me update my computer and Internet. He's gonna come down after the New York to help me upgrade the store too."

Kennedy giggled. It was funny to listen to her dad and grandpa, and the look on her dad's face at the moment was priceless. The family chatted until the first of their Christmas Eve guests arrived. Abby was first, followed by Ziva, and then the others all made their way to Jen's. There was lots of food, drink, laughter, and present giving well into the night.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked out as he looked over Jenny's shoulder at what was in the package she'd opened.

"Yeah Boss?" Tony replied.

Gibbs held up the velvet pouch of honey dust.

Tony smirked. "I meant it this time, Boss! You're welcome!"

Kate and Tim laughed hysterically. No one else got the inside joke.

Gibbs had to carry a completely zonked out Kennedy to bed sometime around midnight. The next morning Kennedy was the first one awake and even at nearly twelve years of age she was the poster child for 'a kid on Christmas morning.' Flinging open her mother's bedroom door she charged at the huge bed where both of her parents were still sound asleep, and in Jen's case a tiny bit hangover. Kennedy launched herself onto the bed and then wiggled herself between her parents. "Merry Christmas!"

Jenny moaned. "Jethro get your child."

Gibbs laughed. "I told you not to let Abby play bar tender."

"Come on!" Kennedy said excitedly. "It's Christmas! There's presents!"

The next few hours were spent opening presents and just being a family. Jethro surprised Jen with a trip to Paris. She got him a very old, very rare, set of Amish wood working tools. They both got Kennedy her big gift, a brand new MacBook all her own. But the best gift was given last.

"This if for you." Kennedy said softly as she gave her mother her gift.

Jenny pulled Kennedy close to her side before opening the present. Inside the gift box was a beautiful hand made jewelry box. It was a beautiful grain of wood with red mahogany stain and a flip open top, and little gold latch. She could tell it was done by hand and it brought tears to her eyes when Jethro whispered, "She made it herself."

"Daddy helped with the inside." Kennedy said when her mother opened the box. She'd practiced, making several others, before getting this one just right and she was very proud of it. "He did the velvet."

"Kennedy did the picture." Jethro added.

On the inside of the lid Kennedy had polyurethaned a picture of the three of them sitting on the steps of Ducky's grand front porch. Jethro sat behind them, his arms around her and Kennedy, her own arms were wrapped around their daughter, the fall colors were popping, and they all had the brightest smiles on their faces. "Oh baby this is so wonderful. I love it, baby, thank you."

Kennedy beamed proudly and before she could say a word Jenny had her in a crushing hug and was kissing her face. Kennedy giggled, and Jethro had never been happier.


	16. Chapter 16

Probies made mistakes. Hopefully they learned from those mistakes and hopefully those mistakes didn't come back to bite them in the ass. Jenny made a mistake, and yes she learned from it, but she wasn't as lucky when it came to that mistake coming back to bite her. Not only was it biting her back, it sent a hit man to kill her. The last thing she ever expected to see while at William Decker's funeral was the name Oshimida. It had sent ice through her veins as the fear gripped her. Everything after that happened like an out of control snowball in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. She sent Tony and Ziva back to the hotel after giving them the rest of the trip off, she called Mike Franks, met with him at that crappy motel, found Decker's girlfriend cowering in a closet, and was now sitting in an empty diner in the middle of no-fucking-where California.

Her mind kept flashing back to the original special-op that had brought her to this point. She, Gibbs, and Decker were supposed to infiltrate a Russian spy ring and take out three high profile targets. It was the first time Jenny was assigned to an op where assassination was the goal and when it came time to fulfill her mission, she choked. She wasn't able to kill her target and now Sventlana was trying to settle old scores. Unlike her, Jethro had been able to complete his mission. He'd killed Sventlana's partner and lover. Decker took out his target. Only Jenny had failed, and then to make matters worse, she lied about it. She was still lying about it. Instead of calling Jethro she'd called Mike Franks of all people.

"He won't think any less of you because you made a mistake as a probie, Red." Mike said from where he was sitting at table, his feet up, leaning back in the chair like some old cowboy.

Jenny shook her head from where she was sitting on stop of a booth bench. "This is my mess to clean up, Mike."

Mike nodded in understanding. He'd been where she is, cleaning up the messes from his past, but the one thing he'd learned along the way was that it was easier to do with help from someone you trusted. He thought about that for a moment smirked. Apparently Probie's little lady trusted him, even if she didn't like him all that much.

Jenny had ordered them to take the rest of the trip off but of course Ziva didn't listen. She knew Jenny better than that, she knew that there was something wrong, that something had rattled her at the funeral. She could feel it maybe partly in her gut but defiantly in her heart. Jenny was in serious trouble. So after ditching Tony Ziva did what she needed to do. She tracked Jenny, keeping off the other woman's raider, but keeping an eye on her just the same. Making her way to the diner she went to the back, gun drawn because she didn't know what was going on inside, and crept in through the back.

Both Mike and Jenny were suddenly aware of a presence in the back of the building. They drew their weapons and had them aimed, ready to pull the triggers. Mike was making his way towards the doorway, slowly. Jenny could hear the sound of her heart beating, her blood rushing through her veins as she backed him up. Only her fear ebbed away when her gaze feel on the young woman creeping into sight. "Ziva!" She scolded as she lowered her weapon. "What the hell are you doing here? I ordered you to take time off! How did you even find this place?"

Ziva cased the place quickly before lowering her own weapon. "What is it that that character says on that television program Tony watchs with Kennedy? I have many skills?"

"Ziva!" Jenny barked, not amused in the slightest. "I ordered you…"

"I made a promise." Ziva said just as firmly. "And I will always keep that promise, even if that means disobeying a direct order. I know you Jen. I knew something was seriously wrong. I was not going to let you go into whatever is going on alone."

It was hard for Jenny to argue with Ziva when she pulled the promise card. Ziva had made a promise to Kennedy that she would always bring her mother back to her safe and sound, if not a little worse for wear. She couldn't seem to form the right words so what Jenny did do was stand there glaring at Ziva, turning her best pissed off Director look up to a hundred and ten percent.

"Knock it off, Red." Mike said from his seat. "Quit lettin' your ego get in the way. That's a damn good way to end up dead. And personally, I don't want to be the one to call Probie and tell him his woman's dead."

The two women continued glaring at each other. They had been through so much together. At one point or another they had held each other's lives in their hands. After several long moments Jenny finally looked away. It wasn't easy to admit her mistakes, not even to Ziva, especially not to Ziva, but she did. She told the younger woman what as going on and why. Ziva doesn't say it's all right or try to pacify her, she simply says mistakes are apart of life and that some mistakes can be corrected.

Having Ziva with her made Jenny feel a lot stronger, and her doubts were quickly fading. A small part of her had gone into this prepared for the chance she might die, but now that Ziva was there, dying wasn't an option.

"So why aren't you and Probie married yet?" Mike asked with a smirk. He was partly hoping to break the tension, and partly asking because he really wanted to know.

"Oh look I found some tea." Jenny said holding up a dusty old box.

Mike chuckled. "I take it you want me to get the water?"

"That would be lovely Mike thank you." Jenny replied with a very professional smile.

It happened like a scene out of one of Tony's movies. The big black SUV pulled up in front of the diner, six heavily armed men got out. Four went to the front door, and two went for the back. Inside Jenny and Ziva had taken cover; they'd taken up positions they'd taken dozens of times before. They actually had smirks on their faces, as the diner door was swung open. The first two men in had semi-automatic weapons, the room filled with rapid fire. The third man come in just as well armed, the fourth man was the man Jenny had seen at funeral. If Jenny had been alone there would have been no way out of this alive, but she wasn't alone.

When the sound of gunshots stopped four dead men laid in pools of blood inside the diner, two never made it in. When Mike rushed in what he found sent fear through is veins. Ziva was putting pressure on Jenny's abdomen, blood flowing from a wound of her own while Jenny's seeped between her fingers. Dark eyes flicked up and for the first time since he'd met the young woman, Mike saw fear. "Call an ambulance!"

Gibbs was sitting at Jenny's desk in her study trying to figure out what she was up too. She'd sent cell phone pictures to McGee and Abby, asking them to run a trace on the man and possibly the woman he was with. What they came back with was a Russian hitman. When Jenny first became an agent they were still doing a lot of Cold War clean up. There could be any number of reasons why there was a Russian hitman involved, but adding Decker to the mix, well that narrowed things down a bit. So what the hell was Jen cleaning up? And why hadn't she called him? Damn stubborn woman, he thought just as he cell phone rang. "Yeah Gibbs."

"Probie." Mike's voice came over the line. "You need to get yourself to L.A. Red's been hurt pretty bad, Jethro. She's in surgery."

Jethro's heart stopped in his chest. Jen was hurt? "Yeah, Mike, on my way."

He bolted from her house, his world felling as if it were upended over hot coals. As his tires peeled away from the curb he called Kate to fill her in. She reassured him that she would take care of Kennedy, and that there would be a ticket waiting for him at the airport. Pulling into his driveway he left his car engine running while he ran inside. He thundered into his basement and started pulling jars from his selves, dumping them out on the workbench. Jar after jar of nuts, bolts, nails, screws, and washers, all went flying as he looked for what he wanted. By the time he found it his basement was a mess with his workbench and floor covered in bits and pieces of hardware.

Pinched between his forefinger and thumb was a platinum ring with a pale icy blue diamond. He'd gotten it years ago and following her Dear Jethro letter he'd thrown it into one of the jars. Setting up the trip to Paris he'd given her for Christmas had him thinking more and more about the ring and what it meant. Part of him was scared out of his mind. He'd already proven three times that he wasn't very good at marriage. But those had been with the wrong women. Jenny was far from being the wrong woman. She was it for him. Shoving the ring into the pocket of his jeans Jethro took the steps two at a time, snatched up the packed duffle he kept in his downstairs closet, jumped back into the car and headed for the airport.

Flying from D.C. to L.A. was the longest six hours of Jethro's life. When he got to LAX Tony was waiting for him. "What the hell happened?"

"I'm not sure Boss." Tony said softly, his guilt for not being there for Jenny written all over his face. "She gave us the rest of the trip off, then Ziva disappeared, the next thing I know I'm getting a call from Mike Franks telling me to get to the Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center."

Gibbs was growling low in the back of his throat. "Status?"

"Ziva was grazed in the upper arm and thigh." Tony told him as they climbed into his rented Mustang. "Jen's still in surgery. She took one in the abdomen that was the worse; she was also grazed in a couple of places. The men came in with some pretty heavy power."

"The men who shot them?" Gibbs asked.

Tony smirked a little. There was pride in his eyes and voice. "According to the agents on scene there were six men, all packing semi-automatics. Ziva and Jen were inside, took out four, including the man in the pictures she sent to McGee. Franks was in the back, took out two more."

"Franks?" In that single word he was asking if the old man was all right.

"Not a scratch." Tony answered.

When they got to the hospital Tony showed Gibbs up to the waiting room. The first thing he did was check on Ziva, and then he got an update on Jen from Franks who had apparently told the hospital he was Jen's father. The last time a nurse came out things were touch and go in the OR. Then he asked Franks what the hell was going on. Franks took him down to the coffee cart to explain.

"She was protecting you, Probie." Mike said. "And she was cleanin' up her own mess. It's what we taught her to do."

"Damnit Jen!" Jethro said as he kicked a trashcan.

"Do you really want to help?" Ziva asked Tony. He'd been on her from the moment they saw each other about what happened. He was pissed that she'd cut him out of things.

"You know I do." Tony replied. "I should have been with you Ziva! I should have been there to back you two up! She isn't just your friend anymore, Ziva!"

The Israeli looked into Tony's eyes for a long time before she finally spoke, "What are you willing to do Tony?"

He didn't hesitate. "What ever it takes to make sure they're all safe."

Ziva nodded and then pulled out her phone. She called Kate, they worked out a plan, and then they waited.

An hour later a surgeon came out. "Mr. Shepard?"

"That's you Probie." Mike elbowed him with a smirk.

Jethro rolled his eyes at Mike and then stepped up to speak with the doctor. Jenny was in critical but stable condition. They were able to remove the bullets and repair the damage, but they weren't out of the woods yet. When the doctor asked if he wanted to go to Jen's room Jethro was torn. Sventlana was out there somewhere and she needed to be put down.

Reading his friend's mind Mike said, "Already taken care of, Probie." Then he nodded towards the now empty waiting room. Now that she knew Jen was stable, Ziva had an errand to run.

She looked so pale lying there with wires and tubes, her red hair stark against the to white hospital pillow. Jethro walked over and took the seat beside Jenny's bed. His wrapped his callused fingers around her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm here Jen." He told her. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He slipped it onto her finger. "And I'm not going anywhere, and this time, neither are you."

Gibbs hadn't seen or heard from Ziva, Tony, or Mike since they left. He felt torn. Part of him wanted to be the one out there hunting down Sventlana; he wanted to be the one who put a bullet through her head for what she did to Jenny. The other part of him didn't want to leave Jenny's side. He wanted to be there when she finally opened her eyes.

"She's still asleep." Gibbs said softly into his cell phone. "Yes, I promise. As soon as she wakes up I'll make sure she calls you. I know baby. Mom's going to be fine, don't worry. Be a good girl for Kate. Love you too." Gibbs sighed softly as he hung up and walked back over to Jenny's bedside. Leaning down he placed a soft kiss on Jenny's forehead. "That's from Kennedy."

He let the kids track the woman down but when it came time to do the deed Mike took the shot, and he took care of the clean up. He didn't want this to screw with their lives and he knew Jenny would feel the same. The way it went down didn't make Ziva happy but she'd get over it. With the mess cleaned up he made a quick stop at the hospital to check on Gibbs and Jenny before making his way back to Mexico. He didn't like Vance one little bit and since he was poking around Mike thought it best to disappear.

Jenny was out for a good forty-eight hours before she finally started making an effort to struggle against the heavy weight of unconsciousness. The first thing she did as she started to come around was to do a self-evaluation. If she focused on where the pain was centered under the veil of pain medication she could get a grip on what was happening. Focusing on that helped her pull at the strings of her memory. She'd come out from cover just long enough to put a bullet in the head of the hitman, but that was just enough time to take hits herself. Jenny moaned.

"Jen?" Jethro said softly when he heard the moan. "Come on, Jen. Wake up."

At first she thought she was dreaming but then she felt the warmth of his hand on hers. It took more effort then it should for her to turn her head just a fraction towards his voice. Jenny moaned again, she hated being drugged. Forcing open her eyes her unfocused gaze fixed on him and her lip twitched as if to smile. "Jethro."

His heart started beating again and he could finally breathe. He looked into her medication clouded eyes and smiled. "Welcome back." When he saw her struggling to speak against the dryness of her mouth and throat he got her a little water to sip. "Take it easy. You're recovering from major surgery."

Jenny cleared her throat now that it wasn't a desert. "Ziva? Mike?"

"They're fine." Jethro told her. "Ziva was grazed and Mike made it out without a starch."

Her eyes drifted closed as she let herself relax now that she knew they were ok. "Jethro."

"Don't worry about it." He told her. "It's been handled. Mike tidied things up."

Her eyes cracked open. She looked into his eyes and could see it there. Sventlana was dead. He knew everything. The pressure of her guilt made her gasp in pain. "I'm sorry, Jethro."

"You were a probie, Jen." He said softly. "We'll talk about it later. Just rest right now. The sooner you're stronger the soon we can get you home."

Jenny nodded and let her eyes close again. She drifted off, giving in to the medication. She slept through the night knowing that Jethro was at her side. When she came to the next morning she was much more aware of things, of her memories, of her body. She could move her limbs, her head, without struggling against the drugs, which meant they must have dosed her down a little. She was still well aware that her pain was masked and now that she understood her injuries she was grateful. As she lay there taking stock of herself she could tell she was on a heart monitor, there was cuff around her upper arm, an oxygen clip on the middle finger of her right hand, and something on her left hand. Lifting her hand as she opened her eyes she blinked when she saw the ring on her finger. "Jethro?"

"Yeah?" He replied. The moment she'd started to stir he'd watched her. He'd seen the emotion on her face when she realized she had the ring on. His lips twitched as her eyes widened a little as she looked at the icy blue tinted diamond.

A hundred thousand things ran through her mind as she looked from the ring to him. Every moment they'd ever spent together flashed past her mind's eye. Every emotion she ever felt that concerned him washed over her like a gentle wave. The tension between them built until she broke it with a soft smile. "Took you long enough, Jethro."


End file.
